Ben Affleck, going from classic-fictional-superhero playing the legendary Batman to modern-real-life-superhero. Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck), a man that grew up when Autism wasn't well understood, and under his radical militaristic father he becomes an unconventional kook accountant with an extraordinary set of skills.

The film's lack in narrative is compensated with the topic that this movie brings to life and explore in a less conventional treatment of what we are accustomed to hear when we talk about Autism. It's a breakthrough from our stigmatizing society that alienates anyone that is different. This movie opens up a new topic, embracing the differences and the struggles to create something much greater.

What is interesting about this movie is that the plot is actually about his Asperger's syndrome, and doesn't try to engross the film with romance, staying true to reality, connecting the characters in more of a subtext context than in your face usual romance-thriller cliches.

Instead Christian connects with his romantic interest, Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick) in more complicated and interesting ways, in their quirks and their similar manias.

Directed by Gavin O'Connor and written by Bill Dubuque, the film follows Ben Affleck, as a small town certified public accountant who makes his living cooking the books for dangerous criminal organizations using his small-town CPA office as a cover. With a Treasury agent (J.K. Simmons) hot on his heels, Christian takes on a state-of-the-art robotics company as a legitimate client that has him and Dana putting together a financial puzzle that might cost them their lives. As Wolff gets closer to the truth about a discrepancy that involves millions of dollars, the body count starts to rise.

We had the opportunity to be part of the film's press day where Ben Affleck along with the cast and director of the film shared the challenges of making this character real, where in the spectrum he should be and the intense fight scenes that drew comparisons to Bruce Wayne.

What did you find to be the biggest challenge of this role, and how did you find who you wanted this guy to be?
BEN AFFLECK: It was a very challenging role and it required a lot of research. (Director) Gavin [O'Connor] and I went around and spent time with people who were at various places on the autism spectrum, and observed behavior and talked to them and engaged with them in everything from what their daily life is like to what type of movie they'd like to see about someone with autism. We got a lot of different responses, but really, the value was in grounding the guy and making him like real people we had met and seen in real life, rather than just an imagined version of what it might be. It was a cobbling together of observed behaviors and character traits from people we met. That's what I anchored the performance in.

How did you decide where you where you wanted him to be on the autism spectrum and what mannerisms you wanted him to have?
BEN AFFLECK: That's all stuff I just picked up and observed in people. There wasn't any one person where we thought, "Okay, we're going to build a character on this guy." It was more Gavin and I meeting people and observing things, and when we'd see something that felt close to what we were doing in the movie, we'd make a note of it. We wanted to make sure we were doing something realistic and that was rooted in reality, so it was about putting together those behaviors. A lot of them were observed, and some of them were stolen. That's the way you do it.

Did you work on all of that for a long time?
BEN AFFLECK: Yeah, it was a lot of work because we cared about getting it right. The last thing we wanted to do was a cartoon version, a caricature or an over-simplification because it is a condition that people really have. The more complicated the better because that meant it was more real. The people that we met and talked to all had very complicated situations and lives. There was an amazing spectrum of special gifts that we found. So, it should feel complicated. On the one hand, he does want to connect, and he wants to connect very much, but some things can't be fixed. He doesn't connect in a way where he can put his arms around this woman (Anna Kendrick) and kiss her, but he connects with her in another way. Seeing that is what's complicated and what's interesting about it.

Is this guy like Bruce Wayne, at all?
BEN AFFLECK:He has the same chin. If you stretch hard enough, you can draw parallels with a lot of different characters, but this is a really distinct, unique character in a unique film. What drew me to it was Gavin and his work, and the fact that it was very unusual. You think you're getting one kind of movie, and then you get something that's smarter, more interesting and more challenging, and is thematically resonant for people who are different and what they're capable of. It's about how we try to protect our children from home and, in some ways, harm them more by doing so. That's what interested me about the project.

Did your training as Batman help you with all of the action in this?
BEN AFFLECK: Gavin was very concerned about the action being real and good, which is something he'd done very well in Warrior, for example. So, training was as much a part of this as it was for the Batman movie. In fact, even more so with this because it's a lot harder for the stuntman to do your stunt when you're not wearing a mask. So, I had to really be on top of my game and work hard with some really great professionals who were very helpful and really good at the stuff, and they educated me about this fighting style (the Indonesian style of Pentak Silat). It was a learning experience. I have a lot of respect for the guys who do it for a living.

Who would win, if The Accountant had to fight Batman?
BEN AFFLECK: I've only thought about beating Jason Bourne. I haven't thought about that match-up.

This has to be one of the first autistic heroes in film. Was there anything you were most worried about getting right?
BEN AFFLECK: What we wanted to do was be respectful and be accurate, and to tell a truthful story. We didn't want to try to sex it up or gloss over things. We just wanted to peer into the reality of that life. Also, I think it was a good thing showing that different can be good, better and special. Obviously, anytime you're gonna deal with a real-life issue like this, that touches people lives and that is really important to some people, there are going to be a lot of people with really strong opinions and feelings. 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. That was what I got from the people that I met with. That's what they wanted to see. That's what they were excited about, so I hope that's what we deliver on.

Is this the most complex character you've ever played?
BEN AFFLECK: Yeah, it's definitely the most complicated and interesting character that I've played, for sure.

When you met with individuals on the autism spectrum, what most struck you about them?
BEN AFFLECK: One thing that struck me was how funny and how much wit people had, who had Asperger's. There were a lot of laughs and a lot of funny observations. I wanted to keep that aspect of the wry, observational, detached behavior. But humor is such a powerful form of intelligence and I was really moved by then, so I wanted to include some of that. It's a fine line. We didn't want to make fun of this character, but he is witty, the way he sees the world in his own unique way.

How did they react to meeting you?
BEN AFFLECK: The Batman character has a lot of fans. It turns out that's a well-known character, so that was fun. I don't think the movie had come out yet, though. There are some people on the spectrum who, just because of the way their social thinking works, they don't observe the same social niceties or have certain tact. I remember one girl was like, "I've never heard of you! Who are you?!" And I was like, "I'm just an actor." I got a lot of fun reactions. But the truth is, the biggest reaction was that people were psyched to be a part of making a movie. They understand that they were coming up with ideas for a character. They really wanted to volunteer and help out. It was also educational because I had this idea of autism being withdrawn, but these people were actually quite enthusiastic, engaged and fired up about participating, in their own unique ways.

Now that you're working in such a gigantic franchise playing Batman, is it important for you, at this point, to take a complex role like this, as well as create one of your own, in your forthcoming directorial film, Live By Night?
BEN AFFLECK: It's important for me. I'm not much of a tactician when it comes to what a career should look like. I'm not a big believer in that strategic level of planning. It's more about projects that interest me and move me, and part of that is variation. You would get bored doing the same thing, over and over again. With Batman, The Accountant and Live By Night, I'm lucky that I've had the chance to do things that are completely different. It keeps me activated and engaged, and hopefully doing my best work.

What do you get as a director that's different from what you get as an actor?
BEN AFFLECK: Movies are all about the director. I've learned that, finally. When you work with a director, you're on his or her ship, and you're going in that direction. Your job is to be creative and bring forth your ideas, but fulfil their vision of how they're telling their whole story. You're responsible for your performance, but you have to be as tuned to the director as possible, try to follow through with their vision, and make their movie. It's very satisfying to feel like you're on the same page with someone like Gavin [O'Connor], who's also really interested, engaged, thoughtful and thought-provoking, as the process was going on. The nice thing about acting is that, if the set falls down, you can just go back to your trailer and be like, "I'll come back when you figure it out." So many things are not my problem, as an actor. It's very, very nice.

The Accountant in theaters on October 14th.