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Its a high bar to not just make it ridiculous.
But Billy grounds it so beautifully.
Shes not alone in that opinion.
In the beginning, Cory Ellison seemed like a sleazy-villain archetype, but hes gloriously enigmatic.
He is not relegated to some cold authoritarian figure.
He really enjoys the spirit of competitive analysis.
And hes also straight-up weird.
It was right there in the writing from the beginning.
I definitely identify with weirdoes in general.
So its definitely in the writing.
Theres a lot of different ways one could have played that.
And that kind of person I see a lot in New York.
I would typically describe them as an angler.
Theyre constantly trying to read the social tea leaves.
Thats why he makes for a great character, because he can pivot within a chaotic environment.
It seems that makes him enjoy the chaos more.One hundred percent.
I know someone like this, and the way I might describe them is that they shit sunshine.
He was told he was awesome at every stage.
And he had yet to encounter a circumstance in life that he couldnt transform into an advantage for him.
It was a totally novel kind of experience of living that made the people around him thrilled.
I look at thatwith utter amazement and disdain, personally, because I dont experience that at all.
Even the playing of Cory leaves me in a flop sweat underneath my clothes.
There is a laziness that comes with the inertia of success, particularly for rich white dudes.
I think hes fascinated by work.
And even if he is, he knows how to move so quickly that people cant catch him.
Its certainly enjoyable to play.
It is such a bald-faced confrontation with the CEO of a major media corporation.
Shareholders would be up in arms.
He waits for things to land.
And those kinds of things he can then wield moving forward to make a run at encourage that.
So he wants to encourage that.
And with Fred, I think if he asks a genuine question of Are you happy?
Theres a lot of fan debate about his motivations.
Do you understand what hes up to?I do think hes investing in the people around him.
If they show him work ethic, I think thats something he really responds to.
Both of them need a bit of calm and they need clarity of vision.
And he has both in spades.
He says at one point, Lets get on the train.
It can be great.
Were going to ride this into the sunset.
I dont want to be anywhere near those kinds of people.
He has no problems being ruthless with the people he thinks are not engaged.
You mentioned that you sweat a lot under your costume.[Laughs.]
Im just wondering if its because hes particularly hard to perform.
He speaks in whole paragraphs because the thought in his head is a whole paragraph.
Im constantly being told to speed up.
Corys often way ahead of where I am.
It is tiring, but its rewarding in ways that are hard to express.
He always looks like hes on the brink of cracking up.
Does it feel like that on the inside?Totally.
I think Corys like that, too.
He thrills in it.
Theres a smile on his face where he drops the mic.
Hes like,Have I not condensed the chaos of the universe in a single moment?
This is awesome!Thats his general vibe.
Do you think they will embark on a personal relationship?
He seems to care about her.Shes a gamer in his mind.
I think hes pissed off at everybody who let that happen for so long.
I cant let you go without asking you aboutsinging with Jennifer Aniston.Oh, man.
Can I just say that we recorded it at Capitol Records?
There were literally pictures of Marvin Gaye as were walking into where we were recording.
I am not a singer.
That is not a scene that I feel Ill likely see again, so I reveled at that experience.
I havent been able to tell by looking at it.
It really wasnt any different than other scripts as they came.
I am constantly and consistently filled with thrill and terror.
