CYNTHIA ADDAI-ROBINSON
Forms an Unlikely Alliance in “The Accountant 2”
Photographs by: JENNY ANDERSON / JASON BELL / CHARLIE GRAY
Hair: TIMOTHY AYLWARD
Makeup: EDWARD CRUZ
Writer: ERIN TATUM
Cynthia Addai-Robinson’s roots wrap around those she loves. Heart enables fiction to more closely reflect reality. “I like to think that I keep myself grounded by all the people that make up my collective and are part of my life outside of performing,” she ruminates. “I'm really fortunate to have a lot of the people that I've known for a very long time - people I went to college with, people that I first met when I moved to LA, even friends of mine that I've known since high school and elementary school that are still in my life. That gives me the experiences that I can bring to performance.
“ ” I LIKE TO THINK THAT I KEEP MYSELF GROUNDED .
KEANA MARIE - MIYA CECH
“ ” I HOPE I'VE GROWN AND CHANGED AS A PERSON...
I want to feel like if I'm representing real people in roles or even if it's a fantastical person [as Queen Regent Míriel] in Rings of Power, I'm still drawing from real experiences, whether they're my own or experiences that I understand through friends, through family, and bringing the authenticity and truth of those universal situations. I always think about the people in my life when I'm representing things that are relatable. I would want people who are watching these projects to feel a sense of relatability so they can see themselves in these characters. It's a big testament to the people in my life that are always on my mind as I'm performing.”
Her return to Marybeth Medina in The Accountant 2 feels like returning home to an old friend. Nearly a decade between films translates to quite the evolution for actress and character in tandem. “I've lived a lot of life as all of us have in this nine year span. It’s a nice opportunity to bring a sense of my own thoughts and feelings and represent that in the character and hope that that translates. Marybeth in the beginning is this sort of almost wide-eyed, somewhat innocent, naive novice analyst and nine years later you would hope that she has grown and changed as a person, as I hope I've grown and changed as a person. It was a really lovely opportunity to get to do that in my career for the first time - revisiting a character and bringing some of my own life experience to it.”
“ ” I'M A LITTLE OLDER , I'M A LITTLE WISER ...
Cynthia welcomes the reprisal with gratitude. “I did the first movie and I'd always hoped that we would get to do it all over again. But as the years pass, you try to set it aside. People would always ask me, ‘Are they going to do another one?’ And I said, ‘I have no idea. I hope so. I hope they do. I would love to be part of it.’ It was a pleasant surprise for me when I got to read the script and see what the story was going to be because I actually didn't know myself. I thought, ‘Oh wow, okay, they've really brought the character forward and she's going to be sort of put in a different situation than she was the last time.
It’s easy to show growth or maturity because again, I would like to think that that has happened for me just based upon everything that's happened in the years since. I think you will see that. I think it'll be true for all of the characters because a lot of the people that were part of the first movie are part of this one as well. I'm a little older, I’m a little wiser, and I think Marybeth is as well.”
“ ” I SURE DID STARE AT HIS PICTURE A LOT...
The sequel offers Cynthia the chance to go toe to toe with Ben Affleck. To say that there’s ice between Marybeth and Affleck’s Christian would be a bit of an understatement. “We actually never got to work together in the first movie. I think I met him maybe two or three times over the course of the whole experience, but I sure did stare at his picture a lot in the first movie. It's me searching for him and uncovering his identity. My excitement coming back was after I read the script and realized, ‘Oh my gosh, I'm really going to get to work with him and this is going to be this meeting of the minds, both for the characters and also as performers.
I have a lot of respect for Ben. Obviously he's been doing this a long time, not only as an actor but as a director, and now as a CEO of his own company with Artists Equity. Our dynamic here is this reluctant partnership. That's a lot of fun to play because you have two people that need each other but are very hesitant to trust one another in the mission that they have set forward.”
“ ” THERE'S A LOT OF HUMOR THAT COMES FROM THAT TENSION ...
Unintentional hijinx ensues. “The biggest surprise for me when I read the script and eventually saw the finished film is that it's funny. There's a lot of humor that comes from that tension and that friction. It’s like the odd couple. And so even when we weren't playing it for the joke, there's just the humor in that awkwardness of two people having to side-eye each other. It's actually a really funny movie amidst all of the action and suspense and mystery. Definitely a lot of the humor stems from this uncomfortable dynamic, which also feels true to life. Sometimes we're having to work with or depend on people where we're like, ‘I'm not sure about this pairing, but I don't think I have a choice and ultimately they have something that I need to get this thing done.’ It's a lot of fun to watch it with that in mind.”
In attempting to solve the murder of her mentor, Ray King, Marybeth’s dedication to legality becomes ensnared in Christian’s more improvisational methods.
“The through line from the first movie to this one is that she's absolutely somebody who has, especially working within the treasury department and the government, that sense of justice and carrying out justice and following the letter of the law. That has really been her guiding principle throughout the course of her career.
And now she's dealing with Ben's character and Brax, Christian’s brother, played by Jon Bernthal. These guys have their own code of conduct, which creates tension because for her, all she's ever known is the letter of the law, and that's important to her. It's what guides her. But you'll definitely see over the course of the movie when those two ideas clash how she evolves in her thought process about what it means to get justice, but using alternative means or getting creative to reach it.”
Fans have been awaiting this next chapter. “What has been really lovely and very specific to this project for me is it's a movie that people have seen many, many times. I always have people stopping me to tell me how much they love the movie. It has so much goodwill.
What's great is that the audience can approach this movie and they're already rooting for these characters. They know these characters. They know the backstory from the first movie. We have some great new characters as well. But I think when you already have goodwill from an audience, that is always helpful and always well-received. I'm excited for the audience to see this. I think if they enjoyed the first movie, they're really going to love the second one. It's just bringing more of what we did that first time and raising the stakes.”
“ ”
I'M EXCITED FOR THE AUDIENCE TO SEE THIS.
Cynthia is in the process of dreaming up her own second act. “I'm excited for this film to come out. I'm also excited about just moving forward for myself, both as an actor, but also furthering myself as a storyteller. I want to get into producing. I want to get into bringing stories to life that I'm interested in pursuing. I'm excited to see a lot of other actors take that up and create things with all of the knowledge that they have, everything that they've learned being in this industry. That’s what I see for myself, so watch this space.” If her roles are any indication, her storytelling will be just as captivating!
The Accountant 2 hits theaters April 25th. v
“ ” I'M ALSO EXCITED ABOUT JUST MOVING FORWARD FOR MYSELF...
