The Audacity, AMC’s latest series created by Jonathan Glatzer (best known for his work in shows such as Succession and Better Call Saul), drops viewers into a world where ambition, ego, and survival instincts constantly collide. What struck me early on wasn’t the technology or even the scale of what it was trying to say, but how deeply unlikable the characters are. They’re selfish, proud, often operating out of fear, and at times difficult to sit with. And yet, I couldn’t quite bring myself to hate them.
Set in the high-stakes ecosystem of Silicon Valley, The Audacity follows Duncan Park (Billy Magnussen), a self-styled tech visionary whose ambitions begin to unravel after a data exploitation scandal, and Joanne Felder (Sarah Goldberg), Duncan’s therapist whose own entanglement in his world blurs the boundaries between professional guidance and self-interest. Around them is a rotating cast of characters who embody both the promise and the dysfunction of the Valley, each navigating a space where innovation and opportunism often look the same. Some operate loudly within that system. Others don’t.
Tim Kwan, played by Curtis Lum, belongs to the latter. He’s not always at the centre of things, and for a time, it’s easy to read him as someone operating on the sidelines. Maybe it’s because the show understands where all of that comes from. The ambition, the ego, the need to stay ahead even when the ground keeps shifting beneath them. It doesn’t excuse these impulses, but it recognizes them. And in doing so, it makes the world of the series feel uncomfortably close. This is, after all, a story about technology and the people who shape it, where the line between ethical use and exploitation constantly shifts, often depending on who stands to benefit.
But the longer the show goes, the clearer it becomes that Tim isn’t there by accident, he’s there by design. Even in the quieter moments, you get the sense that whenever Tim moves, the story moves with him.
I spoke with Lum shortly after watching the season, where he broke the ice with an attempt at the Tagalog greeting “Kumusta ka?”, all smiles, before we settled in. Our conversation ranged from building Tim from the inside out, how motivation shapes behavior, and how much of that work happens beneath the surface. We also touched on something the show quietly foregrounds: the presence of Asian characters in spaces like Silicon Valley, not as tokens, but as people who belong there, because in reality, they do. I told him that as a Filipino, that kind of representation matters to me, especially when it’s done with this level of ease.
The Audacity, which premiered Sunday (April 12) on AMC+, leans into the grey areas of the tech world, at a time when conversations around data, authorship, and the role of online platforms in shaping creative work have become harder to ignore.
Lum describes Tim, quite simply, as a “confident shark.” But like everything else in the series, it doesn’t quite end there.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
The Asian Cut: The Audacity is such a darkly funny series, and I enjoyed it a lot. This is coming from someone who doesn’t usually gravitate toward television, but this one really caught my attention.
Curtis Lum: First of all, thanks for saying that and for enjoying the show. That means a lot.
I want to ask about your character, Tim Kwan. When you first read him on the page, was there anything that told you this wasn’t just another tech world character?
When I first read Tim Kwan, I felt like I immediately knew the character. I know a few people in that space, so he was kind of an amalgamation of different people I know in real life. I was like, ‘This is perfect, I’m going to slap them all together and put it into this guy called Tim Kwan, and I’m just going to have the most fun with it as possible.’
What stood out to me was that he’s just a guy who’s off the cuff. He speaks his mind, he’s ballsy, he’s daring, and he’s quite confident. That’s what really attracted me to the character. He’s quite silver-tongued and very witty. He’s a man who knows what he wants, and he gets after what’s in front of him.
Was there a moment in the script where you understood what Tim represents in the ecosystem of the show, not just who he is as a person?
Yes. Tim Kwan is one of the co-heads of corporate development for this big tech giant in Silicon Valley called Cupertino. He plays a pivotal part in terms of what sets off Duncan Park [Billy Magnussen] on his spiralling journey. So immediately, when I read the first script, I knew that it’s my job to make this guy’s life a living hell. That’s what I meant earlier about just going to town with it and having fun playing the character.
In building the character, were there things you actively resisted or avoided?
Great question. I think because of the tone of the show, and knowing the world that Jonathan Glatzer comes from, the challenge was to have as much fun as possible with the character while still finding a groundedness to him.
For me, it was about finding an extra layer that humanizes him, something that makes him somewhat relatable so he’s not just one-dimensional. Because at the end of the day, he can be that confident shark in this space. That’s what he feels he needs to be to get ahead. But at the same time, he can’t be like that with everybody. His relationships with different characters all look a little bit different. That was the fun part, finding those nuances.
It’s interesting that you mentioned the tone of the show. Let’s talk about that. The show lives in that uncomfortable space where something is funny until it suddenly isn’t. How did you and your scene partners negotiate that line in real time?
Wow, that’s a great question. I think first of all, it was working with people like Rob Corddry, Billy Magnussen, and Meaghan Rath. They were all such bonafide professionals. It was such a pleasure showing up to work and meeting everyone at their best. It felt like a well-oiled machine, like iron sharpening iron.
Thankfully, not just Jonathan, but also the directors gave us space to play. Because we had that, we were able to find that harmony ourselves. While rehearsing or even within however many takes we had, we got to play around and find those moments in real time.
Like you said, it gets funny and then it shifts very quickly. The key is you can’t just play a scene to be funny. You can’t be funny for the sake of being funny. What makes a scene funny is truth.
We always had to recognize where the truth lies in each of our characters. The script was already so beautifully written, but everyone did a really good job of knowing themselves and their characters. It made it fun to just show up and be truthful.
One thing I like about Tim is that he exists in a space where identity can be both visible and strategically invisible. Was that something you discussed with the filmmakers?
We didn’t really discuss it in that direct way. I think a lot of it was already baked into the DNA of the show by the time I came on board. That was one thing that really attracted me to the role. It felt like an authentic representation of Silicon Valley.
Especially from a representational standpoint, you know there are going to be a lot of Asians in that space, and that was reflected in the casting. There were moments on set where it would be me and a few of the other Asian actors like Shannon Kook, Ryan Mah, and Meaghan Rath. We’d be sitting there and just kind of looking around like, ‘Wow, look at this!’ Normally there’s just one of us on set, but now there are three or four, or five.
It felt really good to represent that space in an authentic way, and also to do it in a way that isn’t so conventional. We don’t typically see an Asian character like Tim who’s in that kind of position portrayed with that level of confidence and vigour. He really takes power into his own hands. I was very grateful for that.
Building on Tim’s place in the story, the show is about people who monetize access, whether that’s data, psychology, or influence. Where do you think Tim sits in that economy of power?
I think it’s definitely a grey area that a lot of them operate in. Tim, at the end of the day, is a corporate climber. He’s doing what he feels like he needs to do just to survive another day in that space. Sometimes he feels like he needs to run a few people over in order to get ahead. So I think for him, the ethical and moral side of things can get brushed to the side. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to win. And I think that’s the case for a lot of the people he works with, too.
Lately, we’re seeing more shows that critique technology while being distributed through tech ecosystems themselves. Did that tension ever enter into your thinking as an actor?
Absolutely. Like I said earlier, it was very exciting to be part of this world, but there’s also a delicacy in how we approach it. We’re mirroring life back to the audience in an artistic way, so there’s a responsibility there too. It’s a fine line. You’re making a commentary about something in society, and you don’t want to drop the ball or treat it too lightly, because people are living through this in real time.
While we were shooting, it felt very timely. We’d be reading pages and then seeing news stories come out that were talking about the same topics that same week. So there was a sense that we had to tell the story as authentically as possible, but also with urgency. We wanted to get it out there while it still felt immediate.
Thank you so much for your time, and congratulations on the show. I really enjoyed Tim. He’s a wonderful asshole, and in the best way.
[Laughs] Thank you. I appreciate that. Great to meet you, man. Take care.
