Add The Audacity‘s Duncan Park to the list of TV’s loathsome wealthy guys. He’s the type of egomaniacal tech entrepreneur who lies, cheats, intimidates, and throws a rooftop barbecue while wildfire smoke burns up the sky (as seen in this week’s third outing)—whatever it takes to secure the deal of his dreams. He’s prone to temper tantrums and fights. As portrayer Billy Magnussen tidily puts it to The A.V. Club: “He’s a man-child.”
After writing for hits like Succession and Better Call Saul, Jonathan Glatzer tackles Silicon Valley’s narcissistic honchos in this acerbic AMC series. The Audacity unpacks how Duncan, the CEO of Hypergnosis, is determined to scale his data-mining company by partnering with a neurotic tech genius, Carl Bardolph (Zach Galifianakis). Along the way, he blackmails his therapist, consistently argues with his wife, and may or may not be having an affair with his firm’s chief ethicist/board member. And yet, The Audacity finds subtle ways to try to humanize his behavior.
The A.V. Club spoke to the series creator and star about diving into this bubble of a setting, the influence of Succession, and why they want audiences to care about the show’s awful tech titans.
The A.V. Club: You were approached to create a TV show set in Silicon Valley. How did you zero in on what parts of this world you wanted to depict and the people who inhabit it? What inspired you?
Jonathan Glatzer: Well, for better or worse, instead of narrowing it down, I didn’t. I made it very broad. I knew I wanted these tech characters, like Duncan Park, whom Billy plays so brilliantly, to anchor the show. But then I wanted to give him a psychiatrist who becomes a lead character in her own right, because their kids also go to the same school. I also wanted to bring in characters like the one played by Rob Corddry, who plays a guy from Veterans Affairs. If you think about it, it’s kind of insane or—dare I say—audacious, because it’s all in a Silicon Valley bubble, but it also presents a broad swath of humanity. What inspired me was how much we are, as human beings, affected by the technology that is coming out of this bubble, so it was important to get to see the inside of it. What are these people like? Who are they trying to be while climbing up the ladder with ambition? And what happens to the people who enter this bubble from the outside? Do they get corrupted by it or not? Those were the big touchpoints.
Billy Magnussen: It’s also cool because you know that these people will interact differently with each other at work than they do at home with their spouses, kids, maids, and everyone else. I love that Jonathan peels the curtain back on every aspect of their life so that The Audacity isn’t only a workplace drama. That’s what’s wonderful about Jonathan as a writer.
AVC: Jonathan, how did working on a scathing drama like Succession, which also features several despicable people, inform The Audacity?
JG: I was incredibly fortunate to work on Succession from day one, when we didn’t quite know what it was or what it would end up being. In a lot of ways, that was kind of the biggest experiential lesson for me as a writer: to see a show like that evolve. And at that point, we had the fortune of having a cast already on Succession, so we were able to write to them. That eventually became the case with The Audacity. Once our pilot was green-lit, we had to work very quickly, so I was able to see what the cast was bringing to each role and write to [their strengths]. That’s what makes a TV show feel three-dimensional, when the writers and the actors, and of course everybody else, are on the same page and working toward the same thing. You have to have that feeling of, “Okay, we’re making the same show, and we have to do it together.” It’s something I felt strongly on Succession, but also on Better Call Saul, where you could feel everyone was there for the same reason.
AVC: Billy, what was your process of getting into the mindset of someone as volatile as Duncan Park? And what was the key to figuring out who this character really is?
BM: I lived it through shooting season one. I’m not saying I’m a method actor by any means, but with someone like Duncan, you go to the depths of your soul with this character, or at least I do, because that’s how I am. I wish I could say I didn’t take things home, but I did. But that’s the candy, right? That’s the thing you want to bite into with any project. I think art should do that, no matter what, whether you’re creating it or digesting and watching it. It should question your humanity. I took that approach with Duncan as I broke down the script. I was like, “What’s the humanity in this?” And you carry that stuff with you. It’s not heavy lifting. It’s enjoyable work, but it is work. It’s something we’ve all talked about, in terms of how so much of the point of making a show or movie of any kind is to make it feel inevitable and somewhat effortless in the storytelling. Every day that I showed up to set, it was with pride. I see all these wonderful actors around me, along with one of the strongest writers of our generation, and I want to bring my best self to it. I want to make sure I’m good enough for them and elevate myself to the level that they’re at.
AVC: Duncan is very physically expressive, whether he’s throwing tantrums, walking around in rage, or having a panic attack. Can you talk about this full-body performance and what it says about him?
BM: When you think about it through that lens, it’s kind of like he’s a child. These tech titans are out there working, probably trying to cure something from their youth. That’s probably the impetus for why they got into whatever they’re doing and trying to create, because they want to heal a part of themselves. But it comes from a child’s place. We see how children break down and can lose their shit, and that’s a big part of who Duncan is. He’s a man-child. Can I just tell you, though, that it’s exhausting. [Laughs] But as an actor, I’m also just trying to be the best vessel for the creator’s words, work, and story. So you try to open yourself up and connect to whatever the universe is telling you and let it come through you.
AVC: There are plenty of modern TV shows about terrible people. What do you hope audiences get from this one? What do you want the takeaway to be?
JG: At some point, I want you to ideally forget that it’s taking place with the backdrop of the tech world and [know] that it’s primarily a show about characters’ journeys and their collisions with each other. That’s what I hope stays with you, and then you have a secondary thought of, “Oh, yeah, this is happening in the most powerful industry that is influencing every bit of culture, our lives, biotech, and everything else.” The power of tech is so massive, but it is nevertheless the backdrop of the show. In the foreground are these terrific characters played by Billy, Meaghan Rath, Sarah Goldberg, Zach Galifianakis, Rob Corddry, Simon Helberg, Lucy Punch, and Paul Adelstein.
BM: Yeah, weirdly, I want the audience to feel empathy for these broken people who are trying to do their best with all their flaws. You’ll walk into episodes one and two and think [that] these people suck. And they are horrible. But then hopefully, with every passing week, you’ll be surprised by how much you care for them. That’s what makes good television, to tell you the truth.
Saloni Gajjar is The A.V. Club‘s TV critic.