{"id":1040,"date":"2026-06-02T16:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=1040"},"modified":"2026-06-02T16:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:08:15","slug":"billy-magnussen-on-the-audacity-and-playing-a-deeply-insecure-silicon-valley-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=1040","title":{"rendered":"Billy Magnussen on \u2018The Audacity\u2019 and Playing a Deeply Insecure Silicon Valley CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
\n

\n\tTo play Duncan Park, the head of a data-mining company who\u2019s desperate to join the upper tier of the tech industry hierarchy in the AMC drama The\u202fAudacity<\/em>, Billy Magnussen has to find a deep well of neediness and striving.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cI empathize with that,\u201d says Magnussen. \u201cI think we all have that imposter syndrome, and that\u2019s easy to relate to with any character.\u201d On the other hand, he explains, \u201cIt\u2019s exhausting, his never-ending drive, because he wants to be the top dog. At what point does your bank account look big enough? How much property do you need?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHis character\u2019s answer, not unlike many real-life tech founders, would probably be, \u201cAs much as possible, and then some more.\u201d Duncan\u2019s anxiety about his place in Silicon Valley is his animating force, an outward projection of deep-seated psychological issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNot good enough, weak, just below par,\u201d is how Magnussen thinks Duncan sees himself, pointing to a scene in episode three when his character seeks out a diagnosis by taking a neurodivergence test and can\u2019t accept the psychiatrist\u2019s assessment that he\u2019s \u201ctypical.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe\u2019s constantly searching for, \u2018Why do I have this pain?\u2019 And he wants it because I think in the valley, the culture is that you want to be a little off to the side. You want your mind to be different,\u201d says Magnussen. \u201cI don\u2019t think he loves himself, and he\u2019s kind of looking for the answer that would give him clarity on why he hates himself. The truth is, chill out, man, you\u2019re fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDuncan, at least ostensibly, seems to know he needs to work on some things, which
is why he sees a therapist, JoAnne Felder (Sarah Goldberg). \u201cI\u2019m on the fence about that,\u201d Magnussen says with a laugh. \u201cIt goes back to the point where he\u2019s hunting \u2014 he wants to know that something\u2019s wrong. He\u2019s asking everyone else to identify him instead of him identifying himself. And I think it probably was the cool thing to do in Silicon Valley. Everyone goes to JoAnne for advice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe relationship between Duncan and JoAnne is not a typical client-therapist one, to say the least. He calls her at all hours, she\u2019s combative with him \u2014 oh, and she\u2019s insider trading, based on what he tells her, and he\u2019s trying to sell a potential angel investor, Carl Bardolph (Zach Galifianakis), on his company using information she let slip about another client.<\/p>\n

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\n\tOffscreen, the actors are much more in sync than their characters, who were crafted by series creator and showrunner Jonathan Glatzer (Succession<\/em>, Better Call Saul<\/em>). \u201c[Goldberg] has an artillery of weapons as an actor, and she knows how to wield them with such grace and ease,\u201d says Magnussen. \u201cWe would talk about our scenes \u2014 do we know what we\u2019re going to do? No, but we trust each other enough to say, \u2018Let\u2019s just see where it goes.\u2019\u202f\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn doing research for the role, Magnussen read up on real-life tech moguls and found himself captivated by some of them \u2014 though not always in a positive sense. \u201cHow can you say that empathy is a weakness? Who are these people who want to live forever?\u201d he wonders. \u201cThey fascinated me. I would go on these deep dives trying to understand, what was the thing they were trying to create in Silicon Valley? What was that genesis of the first, probably optimistic, idea they had? I think they realized they made a lot of money doing it a different way, and they got greedy. I find that kind of heartbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs for his own professional trajectory, Magnussen is relishing the chance to be at the top of the call sheet after playing a number of supporting roles in series like Boardwalk Empire<\/em>, Black Mirror<\/em>, Maniac\u00a0<\/em>and The Bold Type<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cA lot of times in my career, I\u2019ve played side characters, just helping the main character move through their story. This opportunity came up, and for some reason, I knew I could show the vulnerability, the fear, the excitement, the anger, all the sides of who Duncan Park is,\u201d says Magnussen. \u201cEvery character I\u2019ve played has had some sort of effect on who I was as a person \u2014 what I had to discover as Billy. Then Duncan came in, and I had to go to these dark places that Duncan\u2019s asking [of] himself, and weirdly, I\u2019m going to be asking myself the same questions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nThis story first appeared in a June stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Alice and Steve\u2019 Review: Jemaine Clement and Nicola Walker Light Up Hulu\u2019s Sharply Funny, Unexpectedly Touching Comedy<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an interview with THR, Billy Magnussen talks starring in the AMC drama \u2018The Audacity.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[245,956,826,827,957],"class_list":["post-1040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-awards","tag-billy-magnussen","tag-emmy-awards","tag-emmys-2026","tag-the-audacity"],"yoast_head":"\nBilly Magnussen on \u2018The Audacity\u2019 and Playing a Deeply Insecure Silicon Valley CEO - US Property Moves<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=1040\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Billy Magnussen on \u2018The Audacity\u2019 and Playing a Deeply Insecure Silicon Valley CEO - 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