(L to R) Daniella Pineda and Cynthia Addai-Robinson star in ‘The Accountant 2’.
Opening in theaters on April 25th is ‘The Accountant 2’, which is a sequel to 2016’s ‘The Accountant’ and is once again directed by Gavin O’Connor (‘Miracle’).
The returning cast includes Ben Affleck (‘Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice’) as Christian Wolf, Jon Bernthal (‘Daredevil: Born Again’) as Christian’s brother Braxton, Cynthia Addai-Robinson (‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’) as Treasury agent Marybeth Medina, and J.K. Simmons (‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’) as director of the Treasury Department Raymond King, as well as new recruit Daniella Pineda (‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Cynthia Addai-Robinson and Daniella Pineda about their work on ‘The Accountant 2’, Addai-Robinson’s reaction to the screenplay, how her character has changed since the first film, if she knew there would be a sequel when she shot the original, working opposite Affleck and Bernthal this time around, and if she’s ready for ‘The Accountant 3’, while Pineda discussed joining the franchise, her love for the original, shooting her fight scenes, acting opposite Oscar winner J.K. Simmons, and working with director Gavin O’Connor.
Related Article: 10 Things We Learned at Amazon MGM’s ‘The Accountant 2’ Press Conference
Cynthia Addai-Robinson attends the Amazon MGM Studios ‘The Accountant 2’ World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
Moviefone: To begin with, Cynthia, Ben Affleck has said that he thinks your character is the real protagonist of this film and that he is more like a “character actor”. Do you agree with that and what was your first reaction to the sequel taking that approach?
Cynthia Addai-Robinson: It’s interesting, if you think about the character of Marybeth Medina, I feel like she’s very much the audience’s eyes and ears in this story. You’re following along with her as she must essentially solve this puzzle, solve this mystery that really in his final moments, she’s enlisted again by J.K. Simmons, his character Ray King. I think even for Ray King, he understands that “There are two people I can entrust that I think are going to be able to figure this out. Marybeth is one of them, and of course the accountant is the other.” Really her recruiting and pulling him in to help, it’s very much initially a reluctant partnership. Then once he brings his brother Brax along, Jon Bernthal, it’s like, “Now I’m having to navigate this with these two people that I don’t really know what to expect once I bring them on.” It is true that she essentially is the through line and you’re following her journey as she tries to understand the particulars of this case.
MF: Daniella, what was it like for you to join this franchise and work with this cast?
Daniella Pineda: I think the coolest part about it was if you get to sign onto a project that you yourself sought out as a fan, I saw the first one in theaters in 2016 and I loved it, and I was like, “Oh man, I hope they would come out with a second one.” That was weird to be a fan of something and then you’re like, “I’m going to be in it. This is awesome.” They left it largely a mystery once I was cast. I was not aware that the film centered around this character. I just thought it was more of a supporting role and you’re in and out. I was so surprised when I read how much she’s a part of the story.
Daniella Pineda attends the Amazon MGM Studios ‘The Accountant 2’ World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
MF: Cynthia, did you have a sense making the first movie that a sequel was possible?
CAR: You’re always hopeful. I think certainly the intention from the creatives at the top was, “If this works, it would be great to continue telling this story.” I think when you’re an actor brought on board, unless you’re directly involved as say Ben obviously is a more hands-on with this, you’re just hoping and never assuming. Obviously, it took a lot longer I think than anybody would’ve ideally liked with eight years passing from when we finished the first movie to now bring this. But it always felt like there’s more story to tell. The way the first movie ends, you feel like you want to see what happens to these characters. Where do they go from here? What does life look like for them? We’ve taken the same time jump, eight years in real life and nine years in the story. It’s nice because we get to not only progress the characters, but tonally the movie is completely different from the first one. The first one’s an origin story. It’s a little bit more serious and grounded in tone. This one we just get to have fun with it and change up the genre a bit.
MF: Daniella, can you talk about shooting the fight sequences?
DP: We were lucky, Cynthia and I were both lucky in that most of our fight sequences happened at the end of production. We had the duration of the movie to build up and train for that. We took Muay Thai classes outside of rehearsal, which was interesting. Cynthia has a mean kick. It was a surprise to me. But I have a movie kick that’s pretty good. It was trying and it was exhausting at times, but I love the way it turned out. Muay Thai was very different for me. I messed my foot up during a rehearsal toward the end, and I got so scared, like, “Oh my God, I broke my foot right before the fight.” But thankfully it worked out. I think it took us two days to shoot that fight sequence, two or three days, and it was so much fun.
Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
MF: Cynthia, how has Medina changed since the first film?
CAR: She’s a grownup. I think there was in the first movie, both for Marybeth and for myself, a bit of a like, “Let me just keep my head down, do my job, don’t mess up, and don’t draw attention.” I think for Marybeth, there wasn’t necessarily a level of say, career ambition, it was just about doing a good job and serving justice. I think she’s very much led by her moral compass in putting away the bad guys, so to speak. Now here she is in a more elevated position, she’s deputy director and she’s essentially like the new Ray King. Again, J.K. Simmons character has passed the baton to her. That sense of this secret that she carries, which is she gets a leg up, she gets this information, she gets these tips, and would she have gotten there without it? Would she be able to get to that same position if she was just working hard? I love that there is that sense of a bit of imposter syndrome. You see her in the beginning of the movie literally sitting in the boss’s chair, and who she is in the beginning of the film and who she’s at the end I think there’s a beautiful arc and a real change, I think for her.
MF: Daniella, can you talk about your character’s relationship with Raymond King and what it was like working with J.K. Simmons?
DP: I was delighted to get a sit-down scene with Oscar winner J.K. Simmons. This is not a shocker. He is a very, very, very good actor. I am of the belief that I think that other actors make you a better actor, not necessarily directors. When it comes time to who you’re looking at and performing and bringing it, he’s one of those actors that like, “I really have to come correct today.” We meet them in a mysterious way. We don’t know why he’s so deeply intrigued by her or why he’s calling her out or how he even got a hold of her. But he seems so desperate to speak to her like he’s been fishing, and he finally has the catch. It’s a little bit under mysterious circumstances and sad ones, unfortunately for J.K.
(L to R) Anais (Daniella Pineda) and Ray King (J.K. Simmons) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
MF: Cynthia, you didn’t have any scenes with Ben or Jon in the first movie, what was it like getting to act opposite them this time around?
CAR: It was like this lovely meeting of the minds both for the reality of, “Great, I get to work with these actors that I have not worked with before, even though we were in the same movie.” For those characters and seeing, “What exactly is going to happen? What happens when you put these three very different characters who are all very strong in their individuality and in their way of doing things and their perception of things, what happens?” I think what I love about this movie, and I’ve been hearing from a lot of people is there’s so much comedy to be mined from that uncomfortable situation. Uncomfortable for the characters, not uncomfortable for me or for us, but again, there is that sense of, “These characters are all circling each other, trying to make heads or tails of things.” For Marybeth especially, it’s like, “These guys are dragging me down into the gutter. This is not my way of doing things.” We had a lot of fun with it. I think when you see on the page that there’s something humorous and funny without overplaying it, I think you want to play to the truth of the situation, but you know that there’s a chuckle to be had and you can keep it loose and you can try for things. Gavin O’Connor, our director, was great at allowing for that, creating that environment where it’s like Jon’s throwing out some improvised lines, and Ben’s reacting in real time. I’m just watching the ping pong match. We just had fun with it. I think that sense of fun and play translates to what the audience experiences. Again, there’s a lot of laughs to be had on this sequel.
MF: Daniella, what was it like working with director Gavin O’Connor?
DP: It takes a very talented director to be able to pull off what is being hailed as arguably a better sequel. The first movie is great, but the second one, a lot of people are saying, “The second one’s better.” That takes a very talented director to be able to pull that off. I think he established the world in the first film, and then he was able to, in a very skillful way, bring out the humor and all these goodies all along. But I feel like he’s always in front of the monitor and he’s like, “I don’t know. Do I believe this? Is this believable?” Everything must be believable and must convince him. As an actor, it was so lovely to be able to work with a director who put so much trust in me and I took some liberties. I asked for her to be blonde, and Gavin was like, “Yeah, sure, okay.” I thought he was really going to fight me on that. It’s so funny the things that he graced and the other things where he knew what he wanted, but it was a wonderful balance. I loved working with him.
(L to R) Ben Affleck (Christian Wolff), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Marybeth Medina), Director Gavin O’Connor, and Jon Bernthal (Brax) in ‘The Accountant 2’. Photo Credit: Warrick Page/Prime © Amazon Content Services LLC.
MF: Finally, Cynthia, are you open to making ‘The Accountant 3’ if the opportunity comes your way?
CAR: Yes, I’m very open to that. We’re getting asked that all the time. I feel like I’ve heard Gavin say as much that a trilogy to really tell the story and with each version of the movie again, give a different experience for the audience, if the audience wants it, I think it’s very much there. When this movie ends, same thing, you’re like, “What happens to these characters? Where do they go from here after everything that happens, after everything unfolds, where do they go from here?” If you still want to know that, if you still care about the fate of these characters, then, I think a third one, let’s go. Let’s do it.
“Do you like puzzles?”
Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) has a talent for solving complex problems. When an old acquaintance is murdered, leaving behind a cryptic message to “find the accountant,”… Read the Plot
What is the plot of ‘The Accountant 2’?
When someone close to her is killed by unknown assassins, Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) is forced to contact Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) to solve the murder. With the help of his estranged but highly lethal brother Brax (Jon Bernthal), Chris applies his brilliant mind and less-than-legal methods to piece together the unsolved puzzle. As they get closer to the truth, the trio draw the attention of some of the most ruthless killers alive — all intent on putting a stop to their search.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Accountant 2’?
(L to R) Allison Robertson, Ben Affleck, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Lynette Howell Taylor, Gavin O’Connor, Daniella Pineda and Jon Berthal attend the Amazon MGM Studios ‘The Accountant 2’ World Premiere at SXSW on Saturday March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
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