Ben Affleck learns Malaysian martial art for new movie
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13 Oct – Ben Affleck has revealed that he has been taking silat lessons for his upcoming action thriller "The Accountant".
"Silat is a martial arts technique that hasn't been seen in too many movies before, so the fights in the movie felt really fresh and new, visually. And, unlike Batman, I couldn't wear a mask, so I had to do more of the action myself than I did in that movie," said Affleck, as quoted by Star 2.
"I spent a lot of time learning the choreography and rehearsing and practising these elaborate fights months and months ahead of filming. It could be very difficult and trying, but when it worked right, it looked really, really elegant and beautiful, even though it was part of war," he continued.
The reason why the particular martial art was chosen was because director Gavin O'Connor wanted a certain type of style that would explain Affleck's character during his childhood training and his need for order.
"I'd never even heard of silat before, but it's incredibly efficient, so it served our purpose in a very cinematic way. We honed in on that form and built the action around it," said the director.
Silat is an indigenous martial art originating from and widely practised in Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia and Indonesia.
"The Accountant" follows Christian Wolff, a math savant who prefers dealing with numbers more than with people, but he is also a freelance forensic accountant for dangerous criminal organisations.
Starring Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick and J.K. Simmons, "The Accountant" hits cinemas on 13 October in Singapore and 20 October in Malaysia.
