John Lithgow has been cast in The Accountant.

He will star opposite Ben Affleck in the Warner Bros action thriller, Digital Spy reports citing Deadline.

Gavin O'Connor is directing the film about a mild-mannered accountant who moonlights as a killer for hire.

Lithgow will play Lamar Black, a tech magnate who hires Affleck to investigate suspicious irregularities in his company's accounting.

Anna Kendrick and Oscar nominee JK Simmons were rumoured for the project, but were not mentioned in the new report.

Lithgow was most recently seen in The Homesman and Interstellar.

Mel Gibson was formerly attached to direct The Accountant, with Will Smith starring.