It's hard enough to play the younger version of someone else, forced to take on their mannerisms and movements- but, it becomes especially hard when said character also has one of the most mystifying diagnosis in the medical community. In this past weekend's powerful thriller The Accountant, not only is young actor Seth Lee rising to the challenge of playing the younger version of superstar Ben Affleck, but he also has to tackle playing Affleck’s multi-layered character; Christian Wolff- a character that is on the autistic spectrum.
The film follows Wolff, a mathematical savant (Affleck in the older version of the role, with Lee as his younger self) who works as a forensic accountant that gets caught up in uncooking the books for several criminal organizations. The plot is intricate and the cast is top-notch, featuring some of the biggest Oscar and Emmy winners and nominees out there, such as J.K Simmons, Anna Kendrick, John Lithgow, Jeffrey Tambor, and Jon Bernthal, and what is most impressive is that thirteen year old Lee manages to act alongside these names with such dignified aplomb that he fits in on an even playing field with his colleagues.
And a big reason for that is because his role is simply so difficult that it's nearly impossible not to give the young star his just due credit. Again, not only is he wise enough to know that he had to take on the personality traits of a young Affleck and make sure his adaptation of the character jived with the senior star's, but he also had to make sure that he adequately researched the autism spectrum- a diagnosis most doctors have a hard grip on understanding. The fact that a thirteen year old actor created a realistic and dedicated portrayal of these symptoms that never seem cartoonish or manufactured is extremely praise-worthy, and Lee should certainly be applauded for his efforts as his devotion to a true actor's process shows that he is one to watch as one of the serious actors of his generation.
The quickly rising star sat down to talk about his interesting role in the hot new film, what it was like working with Ben Affleck on creating the character together, his love for martial arts, what he would love to do in the future, and more! Read below to see what he had to say!
*****
"The Accountant" definitely looks pretty interesting! Why don't you tell audiences a bit about what they can expect from the film and it’s plot?
Well, the main character is Christian Wolff- that is who Ben Affleck plays, and I play the younger version of him. He's this math genius and he uncooks the books for these guys and begins working with the mafia, and all these criminals. There’s an assassin in it as well. So, it's a cool mixture of everything. You have drama, but you also have action.
When going into the role, did you study Ben Affleck and his mannerisms, or work with him to learn how he reacts to things so that you could be cohesive with the character?
We did meet up beforehand to try and get the character on point. And since the character is autistic, I have an obligation to play the character loyal to that as well- and that had to all be in line with what Ben was doing. So, there are certain ticks that we do, as you can see in the trailer, I slightly tap my finger. And then there's something that I can't talk about right now, but we really had to work on all those things together, so it was really cool exploring that process together.
Speaking of the fact that the movie is about autism, that is a very mystifying diagnosis even for the medical community. Did you study up on the autism spectrum for the role?
I did. For the audition, I read many articles and watched videos and documentaries on autistic children and their behavior, so I got a lot of ideas from that. But, when I booked the part, Warner Brothers sent me out to schools to hang out with some of the kids who are autistic so I could really immerse myself in the research- and that was actually a lot of help. And Ben did the same thing- he spent time with many autistic adults as well.
Working with a cast like J.K. Simmons, John Lithgow, and Ben Affleck must be pretty amazing. Who else would you love to work with, and what other roles would you love to play?
Everyone on the cast was amazing! They are all super friendly. One of my favorite people that I got the opportunity to work with was Jon Bernthal. He was so nice. And I would love to work with everyone on that set again. I would also love to work with Leonardo DiCaprio. He has a certain method that seems interesting, and I would love to try and learn from him. And the type of roles that I would love to play would have to be anything that incorporates martial arts. I love martial arts, so, anything that has that- that would be awesome!
That's right- you also study martial arts, and have a film called "Master Slasher" in the works! Talk about that a bit.
I can't really talk about that right now, but it's definitely really different. It's a horror/comedy movie- so, that's really cool. And it definitely incorporates martial arts more than many other films. My interest in martial arts came from that film and that director, Ernie Reyes Jr. He was a good friend of my father's and they were on this skype call, and on that call he taught me a two-punch move. And he is Donatello from the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle series. So, I always wanted to be like him, so acting and martial arts really started at the same time from Ernie Reyes Jr.!
*****
Looks like Lee sure knows how to pick his role models. Between Ernie Reyes Jr., Jon Bernthal, Ben Affleck, and Leonardo DiCaprio, this rising young star will definitely be following a path right to the top. Soon enough, Lee will easily be leading his own film, but until then, fans can check him out in this fall’s The Accountant.
The Accountant is now in theaters everywhere.