Created by Jonathan Glatzer, “The Audacity” returns for a second season. The stars are gearing up for it.
“The stakes are high,” Billy Magnussen told Variety. “Jonathan has set up so many twists and turns,” adds “The Big Bang Theory” veteran Simon Helberg.
“As actors, we tend not to think too far ahead, but these characters are so clearly defined that you actually want to know what’s going to happen to them. You feel like you know them and you feel like you’re immersed in their world. That comes from good writing.”
Magnussen added: “The sad reality is that people are losing focus because of technology. They move on so fast. But I’m always drawn to shows where you can relate to the characters.”
“Don’t make plot twists. I want to live with these characters every week. That’s what we want to convey. We want them to be so real that you want to come see what they’re getting into and how they overcome their hurdles, flaws, and mistakes. I think that’s what makes the show successful.”
Distributed by AMC Networks, “The Audacity” is set in the poisoned bubble of Silicon Valley, featuring ruthless inventors, billionaires, high-tech bros and even a long-suffering psychiatrist. As a writer and producer, Glatzer is also involved in producing “Succession,” another show filled with characters that people hate but can’t take their eyes off of.
“It’s like watching a train wreck. It’s a great compliment to be compared to great television like ‘Succession,’ but I love that we’re creating our own story and our own journey,” says Magnussen, who plays endangered CEO Duncan Park.
Helberg, who plays inventor Martin Pfister, reveals the characters who try to be good but end up becoming corrupt. Zach Galifianakis, Lucy Punch, Sarah Goldberg, and Megan Rath also star.
“We’re looking at them at a point in their lives and careers where there’s a lot of temptation and power that’s out of reach. But we had to find the good in them first. If they were pure evil, it would be a caricature. They’re… They had some idea of what they wanted, but they deviated from that. That’s what’s great about Jonathan’s writing. When you watch Succession, you’re also looking at the conflict within each of them. ”
The bottomless ambition and greed is frightening. It will also be interesting. “They say all these bold phrases and you’re just like, ‘What?!'” How can you be so narrow-minded and horrible? Their blind spot is humor,” says Magnussen.
Helberg added: “The actors all walked up to each other and asked, ‘Tonally, how do you feel when you’re doing a scene?'” Basically, half of it is done by robots. There are farcical moments and tragic moments, but we always wanted to play it realistically. ”
This is no small feat, considering that real-life Silicon Valley stories often seem too weird to be true.
“Everything that happens on our show happens in Silicon Valley. We screened this show for CEOs in San Francisco and asked them, ‘Did it work?’ They said, ‘Guys, that’s too real.’ But they never think it’s actually them,” Magnussen recalls.
“I think many of these people were innocent. It just shows what corruption, power and money can do to you and your family. They are false idols. It’s sad that they are still celebrated by so many.”
“Yes, but it also falls off quickly, doesn’t it?” says Helberg.
“Smoke and mirrors can go far. A scammer can tell you one thing, and it may take you a while to realize you’ve been scammed. It’s not a political show, but in many ways it’s about power, even if the characters are somewhat like giants. They’re still climbing that ladder. It’s hard to imagine that there are people out there trying so hard to get there.”
“In the show, these people are miserable, but they’re striving for happiness. They’re just going in the wrong direction. But they still need to be looked at by their wives and husbands every once in a while, and they need to connect with their kids. They need to go out and be social and experience culture and life. That’s what you need.”
It’s what makes them human, but for a long time it seems like only children are aware of their flaws.
“All the adults are trash. The kids are the hope. I think the kids in this show are one of the most important aspects because they’re innocent, and you slowly see how the world around them corrupts and destroys them,” Magnussen says.
“Eventually, you start to really empathize with these people.”
