SINGAPORE, March 12 — Although he plays a hardened ex-military officer in his latest film, Ben Affleck was starting to feel the effects of flying to the other side of the world in less than 24 hours.

The Hollywood actor arrived in Singapore on Friday with co-stars Charlie Hunnam and Garrett Hedlund to attend the fan event and press conference for their new Netflix film Triple Frontier.

“I feel a little bit like a time traveller or something because it’s a 15-hour flight here from Madrid,” said Affleck on the red carpet.

The sunny island was the final city on the trio’s whirlwind press tour following stops in New York and Madrid to promote the film.

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Triple Frontier is an edge-of-your-seat, action-packed thriller that depicts a group of former Special Forces operatives who reunite to pull off a heist on a South American drug lord.

While it’s labelled as an action thriller, Affleck talked about how the script adds a few twists to the conventions of the genre while doubling as a haunting parable on war.

The military heist drama directed and co-written by Academy Award nominee J. C. Chandor continuously tests its characters on the lines of greed, loyalty, and traumas that threaten to separate them from their humanity.Affleck poses for a selfie with fans on the red carpet. — Picture courtesy of Netflix
Affleck poses for a selfie with fans on the red carpet. — Picture courtesy of Netflix

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“On one level it’s a very exciting, tension-filled action heist movie with a lot of interesting and cool stunts.

“Underneath all that, it’s really a character story about professional soldiers who were special operatives for many years and bonded together quite closely, and they now take on a mission that is morally questionable,” said Affleck.

In order to embody their roles, the actors buckled down for some intensive physical training alongside real-life military men who didn’t hesitate to throw them straight into live fire action drills.

Affleck and his co-stars also took the opportunity to delve deeper into the psychology of soldiers in order to give their characters the authenticity they needed to shine on screen.

“We asked them what kind of issues they had transitioning from the military to civilian life and questions about war dilemmas and how they would approach it,” said Affleck.

Similarly, the complexity of posttraumatic stress disorder and the difficulties of readjusting to life outside the warzone were of central focus to Hunnam’s research for his character.

He turned to books to read up on the psychological interplay of soldiers at war, citing Sebastian Junger’s Tribe and War as useful resources.Hunnam (left) and Hedlund share a light moment together at the press conference. — Picture courtesy of Netflix
Hunnam (left) and Hedlund share a light moment together at the press conference. — Picture courtesy of Netflix

Hedlund himself grew up amongst men who served in the army and it was especially important for him to do justice to the role by immersing himself in the training.

“When I was a kid growing up on the farm, my father would walk me down the gravel road and march into a cadence because that’s what he was used to.

“When you’re playing a soldier, you want to give the utmost respect to the men you’re playing and never disrespect the uniform,” he said.

Triple Frontier also stars Oscar Isaac and Pedro Pascal to round out its alpha-male cast.

The film starts streaming globally on Netflix on March 13.