00:00Tell me what was intriguing about the script when they sent it to you.
00:04I think one of the things I really loved about the script was what a puzzle it was.
00:09And it was one of those scripts that the second that you finish it,
00:13you go back to the beginning and kind of reread it.
00:15And I think that is such an exciting feeling when, you know, you learn so much
00:20and there's so many twists throughout a script that you want to go back from the beginning
00:24and go like, oh yeah, okay, so that's why they were doing this
00:28and that's why, like, he was motivated to do that.
00:30And I think that speaks to, like, the level of intelligence of the script.
00:38Like, something that keeps you guessing, it keeps you on your toes is so exciting.
00:41Tell me who you play and a little bit about your character.
00:44I play Dana, who is an accountant,
00:48and she notices some discrepancies in the books of this major corporation
00:54and she, you know, brings that to the attention of some higher-ups
00:59and she doesn't realize at all, like, what exactly it is that she's uncovered
01:06and this kind of mystery unravels and Ben Affleck's character, Christian, shows up
01:10and he, you know, kind of wants to keep her out of it for a while,
01:15but she ends up in this mystery with him
01:18and kind of getting more than she bargained for.
01:22What is unique about this film?
01:24It seems like, you know, the script for sure,
01:26it's, like, got a lot of twists and turns and stuff.
01:27What is special about it?
01:30I think one of the things that's really special about it
01:32is the family element.
01:37Like, it really speaks to, you know, the way that family affects us
01:41and who we become because of our family
01:43and, you know, on top of these, this kind of intrigue plot
01:48and all these action sequences,
01:50there's this really compelling through line about, you know, family
01:57and the bonds that family creates
02:02and just how it shapes who you are and the life that you lead.
02:06Tell me, did you do any preparation to play this accounting whiz?
02:10Because she's kind of, you know, Ben Affleck is a savant,
02:13but you are sort of, you can match him kind of, right?
02:16Yeah, I definitely got the script
02:18and my first thought was I need to talk to my mom about this
02:22because she is a CPA.
02:24So even though it's kind of, you know, it's not against the rules,
02:29but it sort of would be frowned upon,
02:32I sent the script to my mom
02:34so that she could kind of talk me through everything
02:36and I was, like, on the phone with her for a long time
02:38scribbling notes about, like, you know,
02:42I just wanted to make sure that I knew what I was talking about.
02:44Like, it wasn't the kind of thing where I read the script
02:47and I didn't understand it.
02:48Like, you still completely get all the puzzle pieces,
02:51but I was, like, if I'm going to say some of this lingo,
02:53I should probably know what it means.
02:55Oh, that's cool.
02:55You had your own in-house technical advisor of standing by.
02:58What did you like most about the character itself
03:01as far as, like, it sounds like maybe you can bring
03:04a little bit more levity, like, it's very serious,
03:06you know, on Ben's side,
03:07but you can bring a little bit more spark to the relationship.
03:11Yeah, I think it was, like, one of those films
03:15where I was, like, do I need to play this, like, really serious?
03:18Am I going to be allowed to, you know, have moments of levity?
03:22And I think that was really encouraged
03:23because I think no matter how dramatic a film is
03:27or what the subject matter is,
03:28it's always nice to have those moments where, you know,
03:30the audience is allowed to smile and break
03:32and kind of acknowledge the absurdity of the situations.
03:36And I was really grateful that I was allowed
03:39to kind of flounder a little bit in some of those scenes
03:44and, like, just relish the humor of these two people
03:48who, you know, share this passion for math,
03:53like, just struggling to connect with each other
03:56and doing it really poorly.
03:59Yeah, tell me more about the relationship
04:00between Dana and Chris.
04:02They're two very different people,
04:04but yet they find a common bond.
04:06Yeah, it's a really sweet relationship.
04:09And, you know, the first few scenes
04:11that Dana and Chris have together
04:13are just that, like, sweet but painfully awkward problem
04:19of, you know, the other one kind of assuming,
04:22oh, am I irritating you or, no, no, no, I'll go.
04:25And there's, we had a lot of fun with those scenes.
04:27And then they really connect over, you know,
04:33working out this puzzle and this mystery together,
04:35and they both get really excited about it.
04:37So that was a really fun scene to shoot,
04:40like, just finding that common bond
04:43and getting excited over something,
04:45especially when it's something
04:46that I could not get myself excited about at all.
04:50Like, it's, you know, numbers on a whiteboard,
04:53but it was really fun to find that moment.
04:56What makes the film particularly entertaining
04:59is that there are these dualities to the characters.
05:02Everyone has, like, two different distinct sides.
05:04Tell me about how that applies to Dana and to Chris.
05:08Well, I think Dana's a really interesting character
05:12because, you know, on that theme of family
05:15and how it shapes us,
05:17Chris's father pushed him,
05:18even though he was born
05:20and could have very easily been labeled
05:22as somebody who can only ever achieve this much,
05:25his father pushed him to accomplish whatever he wanted.
05:30And even though that is, some of it is ethically questionable,
05:34he is obviously an extraordinary human.
05:37And Dana's father told her,
05:40take the safe path, don't go to art school,
05:43you know, just do what I did my whole life.
05:45And so she's kind of limited herself because of that.
05:49And so Dana has these two sides to her
05:51where part of her just wants to play it safe
05:55and not ruffle any feathers.
05:58But there's another part of her
06:01that wants to know what is going on in her company
06:06and a part of her that wants more
06:09and wants art to be in her life
06:12and emotion to be in her life.
06:13And she's kind of struggling between,
06:16like, reaching for a connection
06:18and kind of letting herself have that knee-jerk reaction
06:22of, like, I'll just shrink and I'll just limit myself
06:24because that's sort of how she was raised.
06:29Tell me about Gavin O'Connor.
06:30What is he like as a director?
06:32Gavin, when I met Gavin,
06:34especially having seen his film Warrior,
06:36which is wonderful,
06:38Gavin immediately struck me as such a guy's guy.
06:42And what's fascinating about guys like that
06:47is that sometimes they are sort of,
06:50there's a real reverence for their female characters
06:54because there's an element of, like,
06:58I don't really know what you might be feeling
07:01in this situation,
07:02so let's talk about it
07:03and let's discover it together
07:05because he doesn't presume to know
07:07as much as some of the,
07:09like, particularly the father-son relationships.
07:10I think he feels very personally connected to
07:15and that openness
07:17and that reverence that he has,
07:19I found myself, like,
07:22oversharing with him, you know,
07:23which I think is a good sign
07:24when you meet someone
07:25and, you know, particularly a director
07:28and you find yourself sharing, like,
07:30really personal things really quickly.
07:32I think that speaks to
07:34their ability to get you to open up
07:36and, you know, work with your emotions.
07:39And so that was a meeting I walked away from
07:43and was like,
07:43that guy's good.
07:44I just told him a lot of stuff.
07:47Yeah, that obviously speaks to his ability
07:49to connect with his actors, right?
07:51And how about working with Ben Affleck?
07:53This is an exciting role for him
07:55and he's a super smart guy.
07:57I must have been taught and worked with him.
07:58Yeah, Ben really blew me away making this.
08:01He has such a filmmaker's sensibility,
08:04so he is such a great teammate
08:07as well as being a great actor.
08:09He's the kind of actor
08:10that makes everybody else's life easier,
08:13which is great.
08:13And I was so impressed with
08:17the research that he was doing
08:18and there are a lot of moments
08:20and lines and nuances
08:22that are some of the best pieces in the film
08:26that he took directly from
08:28the research that he did.
08:30Why should people see this movie?
08:31I mean, it sounds like it's a really good,
08:34well-constructed thriller, I would say.
08:36Yeah, I think I always love
08:39a film that's a bit of a mystery
08:42and where you're never sure
08:43what someone's motivations are.
08:46And it's one of those movies
08:47that on the second viewing,
08:50I had even more fun
08:52because there are so many elements in play
08:55and watching it for the second time,
08:57you really feel like,
08:59oh, I think I'm ahead of the game.
09:01And then there are still twists
09:02that you forgot about.
09:03And it's just, it's nice
09:04when a movie is that layered
09:06and complicated and keeps you guessing.
