Interview: Silicon Valley's star 'nerd' Thomas Middleditch
I'm nothing like my character in the TV series, Richard Hendriks, says Canadian actor
Canadian actor and comedian Thomas Middleditch (above), who plays reclusive programmer Richard Hendriks in television series , talks tech, romance and stereotyping nerds.
"The writers pay close attention to that world. Everything has to be on point. Like the elaborate dick joke in season one [where the characters create an algorithm to calculate how long it would take to pleasure every delegate at a conference]. The math behind that is all real - they had a Stanford professor go over it. I've spoken to people in Silicon Valley, and many times they have said to me, 'X storyline, or that thing that happened in your show - pretty much verbatim has happened to me.' And it's either identical or similar enough to be scary. In most TV shows and films, nerds are portrayed in the same Steve Urkel [the lovable nerd from CBS sitcom ] stereotype - with suspenders, thick glasses and a catch phrase - but this show isn't that."
"We don't film the show there, mostly it's movie magic and we shoot it in [Los Angeles]. But we have been there for the premieres, and my impression is that a lot of the social awkwardness we portray in the show is pretty accurate. I was once shown a prototype phone but I haven't been taken into any backrooms yet. Maybe if I pursued it [he could see some cooler things in development] but I'd be punching well above my weight."
"We have a tech consultant. When there's tech stuff in the script, we make sure it's at least plausible. If I say anything that's nonsense, he'll come up and tell me so. Sometimes it feels like those medical dramas but in tech language: 'Give me 20cc of database!' Most of it is completely alien to me."
"He's still the same guy, still Richard … I don't think that just by winning TechCrunch [a competition for start-ups] he can shed all his insecurities. But he is having to become the boss, and a lot of the time he has to solve the problems. He's still Richard but with lots more to do."
"You know how in movies or on TV, people vomit and you wonder, 'What's that stuff they use?' I had to be sick for a scene in the first season and we used some fruit smoothies with little banana chunks. I had to put it in my mouth and spit it out. It was absolutely delicious."
"My interests in the world of technology are mainly video games, but I like tech as a means to help solve big issues, such as the demands on natural resources. A lot of people are surprised when they meet me, that I'm not like Richard; I'm not as socially awkward and I don't know anything of coding or hacking."
"I feel that if Richard gets what he wants, the show might end. Like the show lives on that struggle and failure, so it seems like Richard is just doomed."
"I certainly wouldn't mind because Amanda Crew is a very beautiful girl, but I don't think the guys who created this show set out to explore what it's like to find love in Silicon Valley … it's more about the rise and fall of start-ups. So I wouldn't hold my breath."
"Last year they took me to a real TechCrunch Disrupt in New York. One guy pitched an app that prayed for you. I think that's a bit ridiculous, it takes away the whole point of praying. But it just goes to show that everyone is really scrambling for something."
Silicon Valley
