LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The leaders of Silicon Valley are well-known for their cavalier, move fast and break things attitudes, even as their moves have dire consequences for people around the globe. Perfect territory for satire. A new show debuts this weekend. "The Audacity" parodies what happens behind the scenes for the titans of tech.
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BILLY MAGNUSSEN: (As Duncan) Last week, Hypernosis was this close to being acquired by Cupertino. Our stock soared on the rumor.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Did you leak the acquisition rumor, yes or no?
MAGNUSSEN: (As Duncan) No, no. Maybe.
FADEL: The star of the show is actor Billy Magnussen.
MAGNUSSEN: If they make a mistake or make a good choice, it affects 7.2 billion people. And we want to see how those people live and the audaciousness that they have in their daily lives.
FADEL: Magnussen plays the CEO of a data analytics company. He says his character, Duncan Park, is greedy enough and eager enough to try to climb this mountain.
MAGNUSSEN: And we follow his narcissistic, sociopathic tendencies to the top of the mountain. Hopefully he gets there.
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MAGNUSSEN: (As Duncan) Hypernosis, my company, we harvest your data every time you click agree. And then we put that all into an algorithm that would make the Patriot Act blush. Anything everywhere, anybody.
These people came to the valley with hope of building community, of making the world a better place. And now, you know, through the years, they're realizing that they're able to pay off politicians, that wealth is a toxic trait that we're kind of showing a little bit through the show.
FADEL: A big storyline is Duncan's relationship with his psychologist, who he confides in. Let's just say they have a strange relationship. He's into her. She's not that into him.
MAGNUSSEN: I'm not talking emotionally (laughter).
FADEL: Yeah, in the sense that, yeah...
MAGNUSSEN: Yeah.
FADEL: ...He's looking for her approval, almost.
MAGNUSSEN: Yeah.
FADEL: And she calls him a billionaire manchild.
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SARAH GOLDBERG: (As Joanne) I didn't call you a fraud, OK?
MAGNUSSEN: (As Duncan) Well...
GOLDBERG: (As Joanne) I said - what I said was that you might be committing fraud.
MAGNUSSEN: (As Duncan) What is the difference? You're not a murderer. You're just someone who committed murder. And here, when you use the word fraud in the valley, that's kind of like saying good hustle.
I think you actually described it very well. He needs approval from this person. I think he is lost in Silicon Valley, and there's very few people he can trust. But he looks to his therapist where he's like, I know I have issues and problems and I need them solved. And I just want you to say it's OK. You know, the kids in our show that did not choose to go to Silicon Valley, that just are kind of brought up into it, is a physical manifestation of the internal conflict happening within Duncan, actually. These innocent people slowly feeling the toxic nature seep into them from the valley around them.
FADEL: That's a fascinating dynamic in the show.
MAGNUSSEN: Yeah, I love it.
FADEL: And one of the kids is Duncan's daughter. Your wife has hired all these consultants to get her into Stanford with technicalities, possibly cheating.
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AVA MARIE TELEK: (As Jamison) I can get into Stanford for real without cheating.
MAGNUSSEN: (As Duncan) Cheating is doing it for real. The only real cheating is when you cheat yourself. Cheaters never lose. And losers, they never cheat.
But that mentality of a character like that is insane. My goal is like, even though they're atrocious and can be very dark and horrible people, is to find the empathy and the humanity of these people. Like, I don't think they started off bad.
FADEL: How did you do that? How did you find the empathy in this character? I mean, because I kept waiting for anyone to do the right thing in the show.
MAGNUSSEN: (Laughter).
FADEL: I mean, and then you're watching these poor kids who just want their parents' attention.
MAGNUSSEN: Yeah.
FADEL: There's almost, like, a delight in the spiraling of people who just keep digging themselves deeper and deeper. That's where the comedy comes in. That's where you're kind of laughing at the audacity of all of them.
MAGNUSSEN: I've always said this, and I base every character off this idea, is that they're never the villain in their story. They are the hero, so they're trying to do the best they can.
FADEL: Would you say you like Duncan Park?
MAGNUSSEN: I love Duncan Park. But that's every character. I've played bad guys throughout my career all the time, and I protect every single one of them. You know, I think this character specifically is a culmination of, like, my 20 years in this industry. You know, and I wake up and I'm like, wow, I can't believe, you know, this kid from Georgia - blue-collar family, grew up in a carpenter's home - just has this opportunity to share my art with the world. It's wild. I really am blown away every day.
FADEL: That is Billy Magnussen. He's the star of the new series "The Audacity." It's on AMC. Thank you so much. This was a joy.
MAGNUSSEN: Oh, my gosh, pleasure meeting you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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