The Point Radio: MR ROBOT And A New Bag Of Shockers

USA Network’s MR ROBOT turned TV on its ear last summer, and the way this season is shaping up they just might do it again. We sit down with the cast,including Rami Malek, Christian Slater, Carly Chakin, Portia Doubleday and Gracie Gummer. Each one talks about the path their characters are on over the next few month – better hold on!

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Transcript

The Point Radio Hey, it's Mike Raub. We sit out with the cast of Mr. Robot. Not only to talk about the new season, but who actually knew what about the big shocks of the first run of episodes. I think you might be surprised all over again. Let's get to The Point. This is The Point. The Point Radio. Get The Point Radio.

The complex mosaic that makes up the series Mr. Robot has a lot of moving parts. Also, those parts are played by some very talented actors, including Carlee Chaikin, who told me that after the revelations of season one, the big question among everybody in the cast is who and who didn't know about the status of Christian Slater's character. Carlee said she's one of the few that figured it all out. You know, when I first went in, actually, to meet with Sam and Chad Hamilton, our executive producer,

one, I walked in and was like, Mr. Robot isn't real, is he? And they were like, uh, no. And then, you know, I was like reading and then he was, you know, he was like, well, blah, blah, blah, blah, because, you know, like, you're his sister. And I was like, what? How would I know that? So he told me before he even got the job, actually. So I knew that from the beginning, you know, it would be insane to not know that and be able to play that, because it's such a specific relationship.

I always say that it would have been interesting if Rami didn't know that. But for me, you know, it would have been played so differently if it was just a random guy coming in and, you know, you're able to go back and watch it and watch all of our stuff together and see like, oh, great. This season, Christian Slater told me that he has to play his part a little different. Yeah, you know, it's certainly in the process of developing a personality of his own, you know, the scary thing is that, you know, he's getting stronger and stronger. And Elliot is doing everything he possibly can to try and repress this other side of him.

And that's not something that Mr. Robot will ever be happy about. That's not what he wants. And, you know, there's a path that we're on and I want to keep walking that particular path. And nothing is really I'm not interested in anything getting in my way. So who exactly is this Mr. Robot?

I think I've always thought of it as I mean, I'm an idealized projection of what he imagined his father to be. He was a very young boy when he passed away. So he really looked up to his father and I think I mean, starting to take on a personality all of his own. But I think, yeah, you know, he imagines him as sort of larger than life. Very powerful, very loving and also at the same time or other times very scary personality to him.

So it's just a very, very powerful dynamic and a very fascinating relationship for both Rami and myself to its core. Of course, right in the middle of it all is Elliot played by the talented Rami Malek, who told me a little bit about how he prepares for this. I mean, I put the work in to get as close to him as I can. So those things aren't that challenging. I mean, I look forward to that because he goes to some dark places physically and emotionally mentally.

And that's what makes him so special to me is that he somehow manages to get himself out of them. And that's what makes him who he is. He's relentless. He's conflicted and under so much pressure and yet he squirms his way out of things. And I think that's what makes him the hero that he is for so many is because he's flawed. He's just not, you know, it's ethics or question throughout the show.

But you got to say the guy perseveres to some really difficult parts. So is there a process he needs to get into to become Elliot? Depending on the day, some days I really need to go to a quiet place and get there emotionally. Sometimes it helps to be close to Sam and the cast because I depend on them. And there's kind of that feeling of nurture that I need sometimes before I go into something that grind me.

So where does the series go in this season? Yeah, we do with the fallout quite a bit. And obviously you can already see that he's conflicted and feels very guilty about what's happened with Gideon. And there's more to come for him. The special thing about this show is we don't live in this fairy tale land where you can just destroy the world's economy and everything is going to be better because of it.

I think Sam has looked at situations all over the world where uprisings and social changes that have occurred have left power vacuums and left the world's governments and societies in disrepair. And that's not something you shy away from. So there's this big question of at what cost would you like to affect your society and the world you live in? What are the repercussions of that? And what that will be for Elliot remains to be seen.

But I doubt that it's going to be pleasant. And as far as Elliot goes? Sam, when we first started shooting and I said, you know, obviously, you know, he has to come to terms with this. How is he going to come to terms with this? I mean, when you have that, I work with the psychologist and she taught me a lot about, you know, the feelings that occur after the discovery and there's, you know, shame and denial and, you know, all these good threats that happen.

And then there's, of course, some acceptance of that. But I think with the acceptance of it, I told Sam, I'm not going to look at him a lot. I'm not going to give him anything. I said, Christian's gonna have a hard time acting with me this year. And Sam looked at me like, you're not going to look at him.

And I know I don't I don't want to. So I feel like Sam probably cuts all the looks that I do give him. I've been many takes where I don't even acknowledge Christian and I feel bad from an actor. I'm so sorry, man. I'm giving you nothing.

But you're fine. You give me nothing anyway. Carley talked to me a little more about where her character is for this run of episode. She definitely takes on that militant leader position, given Elliot kind of trying to get off the grid, being at our mom and other members about society, kind of backing down because of, you know, what we did. You know, we wanted to start a revolution and we wanted to change the world and fix it.

And really what we did at this point is destroy it. And so I think, you know, you have the option of going, oops, OK, or you sit there and you say we need to follow through with this. And if she and if we don't follow through with it, then we're worse than equal. And we're the monsters. So, you know, I think that stepping up and taking that position was the only option she has.

And this was, you know, and is her kind of the biggest thing that she's wanted in life. And so there's no way that she she's not going to do everything she can to see it through. New to the cast in season two is actress Gracie Gummer, who came in with definitely fresh eyes. You know, I didn't watch it before my audition. So I didn't really I didn't know what to expect in the room.

And I just did what came to me instinctually at first. But I watched it. I watched it after my audition for obviously information and backstory because everything that I bring to the show is based on what happened, which is why I tell people, you know, especially my friends who who haven't seen it and want to watch me. I say don't watch me now. Watch the first season so you know what's going on. But I. Yeah, I mean, I think like the whole feel and the mood and the vibe of the show really watching it really informed me about sort of what to expect on set.

But it's never really what you think, which I think is sort of the theme of the show is what you see is not really what you get. Nobody's more excited about things than actress Portia Doubleday, who told me that she came back this season with a strong handle on her carry. Look, this is what's so great about this show and why I love her so much. I relate to her. I relate to her on so many levels. I don't think that she's a layered, very complex and real, real character. I mean, I identify with her sitting with Terry Colby and him saying to her, you want to make a difference. You're going to have to work from within this lawsuit.

And it's not going to make a difference. And if you work with them, then maybe you can be in a position where you can implement things that you want to implement. A lot of people were thinking, oh, my gosh, she's working at the company that called her mom. But if someone said that to you and you were in that position where you could actually make those changes, would you do it? And I would do it. And there's so many of those moments of season like, would you do it if you were in her shoes? So I think that there's aspects of her that's desperately trying to maintain her moral compass and her integrity.

But there's also a part of her that lost her mother. And I really started thinking about the implications of that. When you lose as a child power and control and you never feel justified, whether that, whether her being validated in this environment, from the CEO that's literally saying, I believe in you, whether or not those inner needs become bigger than perhaps being a good person. And I think that is so interesting in what people can relate to within themselves. Like whether or not it means more to her to garner that, to get that power and respect and validation because she's so desperate because she wants it.

Or if she turns against each orphan who does something completely different. And I think it's that fine line. It's like, I will say there's going to be so many episodes where people go back and forth and don't know what is going on. There's something this season I asked Sam, he was like, you're never going to guess it. And I was like, yes, I will. And I ran through every scenario a good thing goes. He was like, nope, nope, nope. And I was sitting at the table and he hadn't read it. So he read this first six by ourselves. He went to a warehouse.

We read the last four together for the first time. And I was sitting there going, dad, dad, dad. So with all these other players on the field, will Christian ever have a chance to do scenes with them? Look, they're certainly a possibility. I mean, she and I did have a couple of scenes the first season where we did have some interaction. And yeah, I mean, any of those opportunities where I actually get to fully inhabit Elliot and take over completely and sort of keep him in the dark. I enjoy those moments because, yeah, it does give me an opportunity to as much as I love working with Rami and doing all the scenes together.

I love everybody else involved in the show as well. So. So, yeah, I love new episodes of Mr. Robot every Wednesday on USA. And you can always see more at USA Network dot com. Your partner, Martin, has something new for TV. That's just some of what's going on in the world of pop culture. There's some more original programming coming to YouTube. Red. The thinning will be a thriller that will start Peyton List and digital celebrity Logan Paul. It will premiere later this year. Then laser team two comes along, which is a sequel to Rooster Teeth sci fi comedy laser team.

It's set for next year, along with another series called Me and My Grandma, starring YouTube fashion and beauty star Ava Gutowski. Again, those will both premiere in twenty seventeen. It's set for another round of Marvel launch parties coming in a couple of months with the release of the Champions Series, the one that Marvel is calling the flagship title of Marvel now. Mark Wade is the writer. It's drawn by Hubert Ramos. And again, Champions number one is set to hit comic stores early in October. Any retailer who wants to participate in the parties will have a chance to do so right around that same time. And they'll be given a chance to hand out to their customers postcards, lithographs, champion number one pins and of course, variant covers to that first issue.

With the new Star Trek series just a few months away, there's a lot of rumors on the board now about a possible live action Star Wars TV series from ABC. The concept has been around for a while. It's been talked about well since well before the time when Disney took over the franchise. However, it seems like discussions these days are more serious. The biggest problem on the table is to find out how this series would fall into the Star Wars timeline along with the current animated series. And of course, the series of feature films with a lot of buzz out there about how Game of Thrones is going to end and just when it will come to a close. Both HBO and author George RR Martin. It looks like one of Martin's earlier works is being optioned by Universal on his blog over the weekend.

Martin said that wild cards is in development for a television series. The World of Wild Cards is a series of stories published about superheroes that began back in 1986 for Martin and been done by a number of different authors. As well, who contributed to his universe so far. There are 22 wild card volumes out there having been published and Barton says this gives him a diverse universe as big as any from DC or Marvel. The 32nd annual TCA Awards were announced over the last few days and the People versus OJ Simpson was named Program of the Year and Outstanding Bidding Series. Also winning were the Americans for Best Drama, Blackish for Best Comedy and Mr. Robot for Best New Program. That's it for the podcast but we're back in a few days and in the meantime follow us in all the right places including on websites like popcultureupload.com, hitthepointradio.com, Tregtvnews.com and of course Comic