10 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘The Accountant 2’ Star Jon Bernthal

Screen veteran Jon Bernthal stars as Ben Affleck’s brother Brax in the new crime drama sequel The Accountant 2, but here are 10 things you probably don’t know about the 48-year-old actor.

1. Jon was born in Washington, D.C., and he comes from an accomplished family. His mom is Joan Lurie and his dad is Eric “Rick” Bernthal, a former lawyer and ex-chair of the board of directors for the Humane Society of the United States. His brother Nicholas is an orthopedic surgeon and UCLA professor, and his brother Thomas is a consulting agency CEO married to former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.

2. A self-described “troublemaker,” Jon dropped out of Skidmore College and joined the Moscow Art Theatre School in Russia. While there, he learned to speak fluent Russian and also played catcher for a Russian professional baseball team.

3. Bernthal was discovered at the Moscow Art Theatre by the executive director of Harvard’s Institute for Advanced Theater Training. He completed his studies in 2002. The Method actor moved to New York City to start his acting career.

4. Jon was fortunate to avoid a long prison term! He hit a man who was following him, and the man hit his head on the pavement and lost consciousness. Cops told him, “If that guy doesn’t wake up, you’re going away for life.” Fortunately, the man recovered. Bernthal ended up being put on probation for three years.

5. Still in his “scrapping” mindset, Jon almost punched out director Oliver Stone, saying, “You may be Oliver Stone, but I will beat your f***ing a** right here on this set” while making 2006’s World Trade Center. They later made up and became friends.

6. Probably as the result of his many fights, Bernthal had his nose broken a whopping 14 times by 2018.

7. Even Jon’s dog Boss is bad to the bone, taking delight in peeing in Ben Stiller’s trailer on the set of 2009’s Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. Reveals Bernthal, “I always would try to get him to not do it, but he did it anyway.”

8. Olympic gold medal wrestler and WWE superstar Kurt Angle is “Uncle Kurt” to Jon, who married Angle’s niece Erin Angle in 2010.

9. Jon was critically acclaimed for his portrayal of Shane Walsh in The Walking Dead.

10. He’s not a fan of the Marvel superhero movies. “I got respect for those people,” he says. “But I don’t feel that way. I just don’t. It’s nothing against what they’re doing. That’s just not what I watch.”