TJ Miller is an improvising magician. He’s that dude who doesn’t show up to class or study for the tests but aces every exam. He took a Deadpool script that was being worked on for five years and riffed some of the dialogue that ended up in the final film.
In an interview with the LA Times, Miller extrapolated on his need to go off-the-cuff.
I think by now if people hire me, they know I’m going to improvise. I’m an improviser by trade. I’m here to collaborate and elevate the material. If you’re wanting to Aaron Sorkin it or David Mamet it with me, it’s not quite going to work because what I do is much better if there’s a lot of riffing and improvising.
So one might expect that his keen knack for improv would be incorporated into his character of HBO’s Silicon Valley, where he plays Erlich Bachman–a fearless, industrious, blowhard tech entrepreneur who likes marijuana cigarettes and the like.
The above scene is from the first episode of the latest season of Silicon Valley, when Erlich meets Action Jack Barker, the man who could potentially be top dawg in the company he “helped” create.
Now watch Erlich Bachman’s most devastating put downs on Silicon Valley.
[h/t Uproxx]