Joseph Gordon-Levitt brings 'fireworks' to 'Super Pumped' finale around Uber CEO's stunning crash
Travis Kalanick (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) isn't going down without a tech-titan fight in the finale of "Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber" (Showtime, Sunday, 10 EDT/PDT).
Gordon-Levitt plays brash Uber founder Kalanick in the seven-episode limited series, as the company transforms from a scrappy start-up to a culture-changing ride-share service valued at $70 billion. But Uber's shady corporate dealings, along with Kalanick's leadership in a toxic work environment, sucked the magic out of the unicorn.
Kalanick resigned as CEO in 2017 at age 41 under pressure from investors, including venture capitalist and one-time mentor Bill Gurley (Kyle Chandler). The boardroom coup blazes in the show's final chapter.
"We're combining (Kalanick's) intensity, intelligence and gift for the gab into his full-on crisis," says Gordon-Levitt, who is also 41. "The show's dialogue has already been like fireworks. But with these fireworks in the finale, the whole sky lights up."
Gordon-Levitt discusses the "Super Pumped" pyrotechnics and his hilarious "10 Things I Hate About You" reunion with Paste BN.
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Question: "Super Pumped" Episode 4 features you as Travis Kalanick meeting Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who is played by your "10 Things I Hate About You" best friend David Krumholtz. Did you appreciate the casting?
Joseph Gordon-Levitt: It was so hilarious that after all these years, that Dave and I went from playing lovesick high school kids to two of the most powerful individuals in Silicon Valley. It was inspired casting. We all got really close that summer making ''10 Things I Hate About You." And Dave is still a great friend.
Q: Sergey is more interested in Kalanick's girlfriend, Gabi, than Kalanick is himself. How was it to play that awkward scene?
Gordon-Levitt: Dave is one of the funniest people I know. So I walk away and he starts to carry on with Gabi (Bridget Gao-Hollitt) about his culinary tour of China. In every take, Dave said something more bizarre about what he ate. He was sort of challenging us not to laugh about the ridiculous thing he said he ate with such earnest conviction. .
Q: Your Kalanick gives a long speech to the TV audience in the finale, insisting he had to be a jerk to make an Uber-type impact. Was that speech done for reasons more than showing he's unrepentant to the end?
Gordon-Levitt: Breaking that fourth wall with the audience is not something I get to do often. It's a flat-out monologue to explain himself and also not let the audience off the hook. They can't just sit there and wag their fingers at this character. Maybe they need to think about the world we're living in.
To me, "Super Pumped" is more than a story about Travis or Uber. It's about how our larger business world works. Why are we rewarding people and companies who step on others, abuse people or sell bad things in the 21st century? It's happening on a grand scale. So when Travis says something like, "Yeah, I'm a (jerk). That's what it takes," we should be asking ourselves, "Why does it take that?" Because he's not wrong. And it shouldn't be that way.
Q: Kalanick says throughout "Super Pumped" that "I am Uber." Does the company's financial recovery in his absence reveal that's not the case?
Gordon-Levitt: This is the type of timeless story that predates iPhones. It's the story of individuals who think so much of themselves that ultimately they come crashing down. Like Icarus or kings or emperors who think they are infallible and all-powerful.
Uber has proven that it was something more than a cult of personality operating without Travis as CEO. But now that Uber is on better behavior, it's not as successful. Door Dash has a higher market cap than Uber right now. That's partly due to the pandemic. But why does the system reward companies that step on other people in order to benefit themselves? That, to me, is the central question of this show.
Q: There's a whole fantasy sequence in which Kalanick imagines a very different reality from the one that is ultimately crashing down around him. Why was that important?
Gordon-Levitt: There's a motif throughout the show of going into Travis' mind and seeing how his reality clashes with objective reality. We all have these moments throughout our lives where things are far from what you actually thought they were. Those can be tragic moments. They can be hilarious moments. Through Travis' mind, we see the glory that he feels he deserves, crashing up against the reality of what this situation has become.
Q: Looking forward, there are reports that you'll play late-night talk-show legend Johnny Carson in a biopic. Please confirm this is happening immediately because it's dead-on casting.
Gordon-Levitt: We're in the early days of developing the project. We don't know if it'll ever become a thing and get in front of audiences. We'll see, but it's too early to really talk about. I'm hoping for this one. There's a lot that's fascinating about that story.