(upbeat music)
- Right now, Billy Magnussen is that guy.
He's a Tony nominee and we've seen him in supporting roles
and a bunch of great TV shows and movies.
But soon he's going to be the guy.
Right Paul.
- Tamsen, this guy's about to rocket into the stratosphere.
He's on the verge mega stardom.
- Billy Magnussen was nominated for a Tony Award in 2013
for his performance in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.
Plenty of good stuff since then too.
Like Game Night with Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams.
His performance on the epic series Get Shorty.
And of course, he briefly stole the show in
Disney's live-action Aladdin as Prince Anders.
but that doesn't even seem to compare to what
Billy has on tap for 2021.
- He'll be seen in the new Sopranos prequel,
The Many Saints of Newark.
You can watch him on the HBO Max series Made for Love.
And he'll be in one of the biggest films of the year.
the new James Bond movie, No Time to Die.
Gogol Tech's newest endeavor is a chip implanted
into couples brains to merge their thoughts.
- Hazel and I are users one.
- You are on the buzzed about show right now.
Made for Love, on HBO Max.
Let's talk about Byron Gogol, right?
- Christina Lee and Alissa Nutting,
Alissa Nutting wrote the novel Made for Love,
you know, created this character.
He's a tech billionaire, has his own company,
a little bit of a sociopath, recluse, you know, out there.
But with creating this character in the show
I do think, you know, I looked at Elon Musk,
and Jeff Bezos as, seen that.
But I do think this character is the
personification of toxic masculinity.
And, that is the way to get into
who he really is on the other side.
This character just actually wants to fall in love,
and be loved and have a connection that is meaningful.
- And his way of finding love and connection
is by putting a chip inside his wife's head.
- Coming from my character's point of view,
which you know, no, one's the villain in their story.
You know that everyone's the hero in their own narrative.
We, we've all been in relationships where you're like,
hey, how, tell me how you feel.
Be authentic, be honest.
And you don't, they don't tell you the truth.
And then they hold you accountable
for not changing to how they feel
without ever actually opening up and sharing.
- There's always a new Billy Magnussen project.
Makes me very happy.
I'm a fan of yours.
I know that you're in the Bond movie.
Talk about Bond.
- To be a part of such a Hollywood staple.
It blows my mind.
It's it's crazy.
You, you, you pinch yourself all the time.
And you're just like, God, I can't believe it.
This happened.
- Is Prince Anders getting his own show on Disney+?
- Prince Anders is just like a one-off movie.
It's not a series.
The opportunity to be in that project was,
I was just so, you know I audition for a part.
I got 30 seconds of screen time
And I kinda went to Disney and I was like,
Disney I actually fell in love with this
Mr. Bean kind of character and I run with it.
And you know, they've been very advantageous
in helping me on this journey.
I didn't want the character to die
cause I loved playing him so much.
And I was like, I think there's a really beautiful
story here that could be told in the relevant time.
So I pitched them a project.
And they were like, okay, we'll figure it out.
- Eight years ago, you were nominated for a Tony Award.
Remember that?
And you were in every night making everybody laugh
In Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike in your Calvin Klein's.
During the pandemic didn't people get to see it online?
- I got to, that was the first time I've seen it.
- Oh wow.
- It was so emotional for me to watch it,
because that was over a year of my life.
You know, I had Sigourney Weaver,
David Hyde Pierce, Kristine Nielsen there.
They just taught me and inspired me and helped me grow.
And you know, the lessons I learned
from them and the memories I have,
I'm forever grateful to them.
- Do you see that time in Vanya and Sonia
as a real launching pad for you into this amazing career?
- Just having the opportunity to perform on Broadway.
It's a dream in and of itself.
But I just want to say that hands down, it's one
of the greatest achievements I've ever had in my life.
But I do think that was a catalyst
for a big part of my career.
Because it did help me spring to,
or the awareness of my career.
But I also owe every job before that,
because that led me to that.
There's not one thing in my career where I've regret doing.
It's taken me down this path and it's made me the man I am.