He's perhaps not everyone's idea of a great method actor, but Ben Affleck appears to have quietly gone about his business to ensure his role as Nick Dunne - a man suspected of having a hand in the disappearance of his wife in David Fincher's Gone Girl - is as genuine and real as possible.

Ben AffleckBen Affleck as Nick Dunne in 'Gone Girl'

During a wide-ranging interview with Details magazine that did the rounds on Thursday (September 18), Affleck was asked a bunch of excellent questions by Jeff Gordiner, especially that time when he was asked to leave a blackjack table in Las Vegas for card-counting.

But it was his back-and-forth with Fincher on his preparations for Gone Girl that was the most illuminating. 

More: Ben Affleck admits to counting cards in Las Vegas casino

There's a scene in Gone Girl where Affleck's Nick Dunne goes in front of the press to appeal for help in finding his wife. He gets heavily intoxicated the night before.

"When you look at a movie and think, Oh, that's the real guy, that's probably a good thing. You know what I mean? Like, in the book, for example, it said that he was puffy and hungover. And I dedicated myself to that, and I think it's quite convincing," said Affleck.

"It was six months of real dedication to being hungover. It was extremely Method," said Fincher.

More: check out our Ben Affleck interview

Gone Girl remains one of the strong contenders for the major awards this year, though it's also a hugely dark film - like Foxcatcher - that may court controversy.

"That's going to happen with this movie," said Affleck, "I think. I feel like this is one where cuples are going to be, "Do you think that was okay?" And the husband's got to decide, "Do I be honest, or do I live a comfortable life?"

Watch the 'Gone Girl' trailer: