|
 "But it's not a one-to-one Zuckerberg," says show director
Mike Judge (of "Beavis and Butt-head" fame), while Judge's
collaborator Alec Berg says "there was never a moment in any of
this that was like 'Do it more Zuckerberg.'"
Until he landed the lead role of Richard, a computer programmer
with a coveted compression algorithm, the 32-year-old
Middleditch had played mostly smaller, "crazy guy" parts. Now,
the comedy writer and actor gets a second season after HBO
renewed "Silicon Valley" based on good reviews and ratings for
the first few episodes of season one.
Middleditch talked to Reuters about his own nerdy back story,
his big step up to an HBO show and the challenge of replicating
his director's panic-induced vomiting.
Q: Mike Judge says you've done some programming.
A: I've made HTML, built some websites, figured out some
Flash stuff ... little computer programs like that, on my own,
but I wouldn't call myself a coder.
Q: How has that experience working with technology helped
your development of your character, Richard?
A: I know nowadays I come across as a very social, really
cool person. But in elementary, junior high, high school, I had
a very nerdy background, not only in computer programming, but
also in videogames and nerdy stuff. That all definitely helped
connect with the world.
I definitely have had experiences in life that draw on the sort
of guy that is just focused on the one thing and not much else.
Richard is one of those guys ... he's like a little hamster on a
wheel going away, trying to figure out the next thing.
Q: What's with Richard retching after he gets two
competing offers for his start-up?
A: That panic attack-vomity stuff is something that has
happened to Mike Judge, actually. He goes and puts it in the
script and explains to me what it's like and I try to recreate
it as best I can.
Q: How would you describe Richard's evolution in season
one?
A: Every day he kind of gets confidence in certain areas
and learns how to delegate. That's the big thing, not only for
Richard but a lot of these guys in Silicon Valley that strike it
rich in the tech gold mine: they suddenly have gone from normal
coder guy to CEO or position of authority.
You also see the mounting pressure that is on his shoulders as
he tries to get things done for deadline and as you see these
two billionaires play God over him.
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Q: Did you do research, meeting guys in incubators,
startups and even the more successful people in the Valley?
A: You know, I haven't met too many people, and if I had, I
probably wouldn't know it. Most of them are normal guys.
This is where I have got to give props to Mike and Alec and all
those guys. They did a ton of research and I just walked in and saw
it was covered and thought, 'OK, good.' Call me a lazy actor, but
hopefully I haven't outed myself.
Q: Does Richard have an element of Mark Zuckerberg?
A: I think probably all these guys have a sprinkling of
Zuckerberg, but is that a sprinkling of Zuckerberg or just some
other quality that Zuckerberg shares with all these guys? In my
approach to the role, I had to be very aware of "The Social Network"
and the portrayal of him, so I definitely tried my best not to do a
copy.
Q: What one thing in the show makes you laugh hardest?
A: Dang it. It is in an episode to come. And it is such a
good bit that I don't want to tell you about it.
But I can answer in a sadly generic way. What's cool about this show
is that you have all these great writers, but they allow us to
improvise these little moments. And in all these episodes you will
find a handful of these, just these little nuggets, these little
exchanges, looks that are like quiet awkwardness.
Q: What does this role represent in your career?
A: Oh man. For me, up to this point, I do comedy and a lot of
my opportunities have been the crazy guy or the walk-on guy or just
like the silly character. So for me to play this lead character is
very fortunate. I definitely recognize the chance that it is. It is
a dream to be on HBO.
I would go around Hollywood trying to peddle my TV show idea and I
would always say 'HBO, well that's impossible, so what else can we
do?' But here I am on HBO, directed by Mike Judge of all people. And
a lot of these guys in the show are my friends.
Q: It will be interesting to see where your career goes.
A: I am sure it is a meteoric plunge from here.
(Reporting by Mary Milliken; editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Mohammad
Zargham)
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