David Fincher's Gone Girl has been billed as the season's 'darkest thriller'. It stars Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne - a man juggling two campaigns: one to find his missing wife, and the other to prove his own innocence. Based on Gillian Flynn's bestselling crime thriller, the movie is probably the most anticipated of the year and Entertainment Weekly caught up with its lead star to discuss preparing for one of the darkest roles in Hollywood.

Ben AffleckBen Affleck as Nick Dunne in 'Gone Girl'

"It wasn't something I had to do a lot of research for," Affleck said, "I knew what it was like to have the tabloid world paying attention to me and ascribing negative motivations to whatever I might be engaging in. I knew what it was to be cast in a soap opera I had no control over."

According to Fincher - the movie's superstar director - Affleck's familiarity with press intrusion factored heavily in his casting. 

"We knew we needed somebody who was charming and could be seductive, who could be a ladies man, a guy's guy, a frat boy," Fincher said, "But most important, [someone] who had the wits and experience of knowing that situation. The gift of having Ben Affleck is that this is a guy who knows. He knows what a lose-lose situation is and understands what's funny about it, however sad."

More: The 'Gone Girl' trailer is weird and different to other trailers

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Gone Girl

Though the movie's marketing campaign pretty much echoes that of the book's (did Nick Dunne murder his wife?) Flynn has stated that the movie will deviate from the novel as its story will be structured differently.

Understandably there has been little information on how the movie will end, though Flynn - who wrote the script for the movie - says it is a different conclusion from the book. 

"Ben [Affleck] was so shocked by it," Flynn said. "He would say, 'This is a whole new third act! She literally threw that third act out and started from scratch.'"

Gone Girl hits theaters on October 4, 2014. 

Watch the Gone Girl trailer: