Seth Lee – The Accountant

By starrymag | September 10, 2016

By: Kelly Kearney

Q) What are the recent projects you’ve been working on?

A) I’m currently working on directing a short film, it’s currently in the works. Acting wise, I have a feature film with one of my long time idols Ernie Reyes, Jr. It’s a horror/comedy and it’s a martial arts movie as well. So, it’s going to be really interesting and a lot of fun.

Q) You play the younger version of Ben Affleck’s character Chris in the film The Accountant. Can you tell the fans what the film is about?

A) From what I can say it’s like a puzzle. It’s about a kid who grows up with Asperger’s in the 80’s. He has to deal with his Asperger’s like no one does now so his father teaches him to fight back. He grows up facing his fears instead of hiding away from them. Chris grows up to be an accountant and takes on cases that the CIA can’t even take down. So, Chris is like an assassin and an accountant who deals with Asperger’s at the same time. It’s really original and different from a lot of movies.

Q) Your character in the film has Autism. Did you do any research to prepare yourself for the role?

A) Yeah, I did. I did some before the audition and some before the call backs, but a lot of it came after I booked the role. Warner Bros actually sent me out to some schools to hang out with some of the autistic kids so I could really get a better idea about Autism.

Q) What was your audition process like for The Accountant?

A) Like I was saying earlier, I did a lot of prepping beforehand and one of the things I actually did for the audition was I threw a chair. I was having an episode so I [as Chris] threw a chair at the casting director. I felt like that’s one of the things that made me stand out and it was also really cool. It was definitely one of the best auditions I’ve had. That same week they decided to fly me out to Atlanta for the call backs and there I went in multiple times. I went in once with one of my friends, who actually wound up playing my brother, so that was really cool because I got to hang out with him on set.

Q) What advice did costars Ben Affleck or Anna Kendrick give you during the filming that you took to heart?

A) I mainly worked with Ben Affleck, but I did meet and hang out with Anna Kendrick and J.K. Simmons for a little bit. I mainly got advice from Ben. We went in together to do previews and there’s something I really can’t discuss now, but in the movie there’s this little message that goes throughout the movie and we actually worked on it. There’s these little ticks that we do. In fact, you can see it in the trailer if you watch it I tap my fingers. So, Ben and I worked together and decided how, as actors, we wanted to portray the character. I don’t know if I got any advice from him just that we worked on the character together.

Q) Are there any fun stories or a memory that stands out for you from the filming of The Accountant?

A) One of my favorite stories I like to tell people is during the table read, it was the same time around my birthday. After the table read, Gavin [O’Connor] the director had everybody sing Happy Birthday to me. That was my favorite because I got to have Anna Kendrick, ya know from Pitch Perfect, to sing Happy Birthday to me. It was really cool to see that.

Q) What is it about the movie that will make people want to take the time to go see it?

A) I think it’s original idea and Hollywood has been a lot doing sequels. The Accountant is one of the few original and creative movies coming out. It’s an action movie and a drama, but it’s also a thriller and you really have to pay attention when you’re watching it. It’s not like an expendable movie where you’re just going to see explosions. You really have to think about a lot that goes on in the film. It’s definitely something very, very different.

Q) You’ve been able to find roles that highlight both your acting and martial arts/stunt work. Is that something you look for in a role or is it just luck?

A) Oh yes, I definitely like roles that require martial arts because I’ve been working on martial arts for so long. It makes it feel like it was all worth it. I’ve had a few martial arts roles like Underdog Kids, that was mainly martial arts and the horror/comedy film I mentioned earlier starring Ernie Reyes, Jr. requires a lot of martial arts. Many of my projects are martial arts related, but I do have some that aren’t. In The Accountant, I also have some fight scenes and I got to incorporate martial arts there too.

Q) “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” is a cult favorite. You played the young Dennis Reynolds. What was it like working with and for Glenn Howerton and Rob McElhenney?

A) Well, it was really cool and different than the work I was doing back then. It was one of the bigger projects that I had done so that was cool and it was also a new environment that I wasn’t use to. Working with those two… I didn’t meet Glenn Howerton, but he did call my dad to say “good luck.” So, I didn’t get to meet him, but I did meet Rob and he was really cool. I actually showed him my backflip and he really liked it.

Q) How did you come up with the idea for your YouTube channel Super Seth Lee? Tells the fans what it’s about.

A) It’s not like normal YouTube channels with blogs or something like that. It really shows what I do. I post a lot of martial arts videos and at the same time I post skits. I really like to make short comedy films and its cool because that’s what started my directing was the making skits. It’s just different from most YouTube channels.

Q) Congrats on directing your first short film. As you get older, do you see yourself focusing more on directing than acting? Is that a passion of yours?

A) You know, I can’t really say, but I definitely want to start directing more and eventually I want to direct an actual feature film. In fact, with my short film that I’m directing and coming out soon, I actually went over to Gavin’s [O’Connor] house and he helped me out and gave me a lot of advice for an upcoming director.

Q) Besides martial arts and your YouTube channel, what’s something you do for fun in your downtime?

A) it’s very challenging finding free time. I like to listen to music. I listen to Kanye and Chance the Rapper. My friend Ryan is an up in coming rapper and it’s a lot of fun to see him do that. I like to follow music so he’s definitely someone everyone should look out for.

Q) Is there anything else you’d like to share with the fans? Any upcoming projects we can look forward to seeing you in?

A) Definitely go see The Accountant on October 14^th! It’s very different and everyone will be pleased with the final outcome.