Ben Affleck Says ‘The Accountant’ Is a Superhero Story About Autism

Allyson Gronowitz

Fresh off of “Batman vs. Superman,” Ben Affleck plays an entirely different kind of superhero in “The Accountant.” From director Gavin O’Connor (“Miracle,” “Warrior”) and screenwriter Bill Dubuque, “The Accountant” is a thriller centered around Chris Wolff (Affleck), an autistic man with an affinity for mathematics who uses his job in a small-town CPA office as a cover for his clandestine double life.

As a child on the autism spectrum, Wolff struggled to relate to people, instead preferring to spend time with puzzles and numbers. “He has more in common with Einstein or Mozart than he does with us,” a neurologist tells father (Robert C. Treveiler). “I’d like to work with your son.” Chris’s father declines, preferring the “tough love” approach. “The world is not a friendly place,” he says. “And that’s where he needs to learn to live.” Years later, Wolff is employed at an accounting agency, but his name and face bring up red flags for Ray King (J. K. Simmons), head of the Treasury Department’s Crime Enforcement Division, who notices that Wolff has been providing freelance accounting work for some of the world’s most dangerous criminal organizations.

But Wolff has also taken on a more noble project, working with accounting clerk Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick) to uncover a multi-million dollar discrepancy in the books of a major robotics company. Cummings realizes that Wolff is not who he seems, and the two become embroiled in a violent, international conspiracy from which there may be no escape.

At a press conference for “The Accountant,” Affleck spoke about the importance of fleshing out a protagonist with autism—certainly one of the first “autistic heroes” in a mainstream film.  “What we wanted to do was be respectful and be accurate, and to tell a truthful story,” Affleck said. “Also, I think it was a good thing showing that different can be good, better and special. Our hope is that people in that community, who are on the spectrum of autism, like the movie and like that it’s a superhero story about them.”

“The Accountant” will be released in theaters nationwide on Oct. 14.