Industry brought viewers into Eric’s home and professional past in an episode centered on Pierpoint’s managing director.
Warning: This post contains spoilers forIndustryseason 2, episode 4.
Eric Tao (Ken Leung) is having trouble adapting to the changing times.
Nick Strasburg/HBO
He ends up reuniting with Newman’s widow who he used to have a relationship with.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Eric and Harper have a very complicated relationship.
What is it like to develop that dynamic with Myha’la?
Nick Strasburg/HBO
KEN LEUNG: It’s been super fun.
Partially because Myha’la is so easy to act with, and that was true from the instant we met.
She’s a very open person and she wears her heart on her sleeve.
We’re both very willing to go wherever the writers wanted our characters.
What’s your take on his approach?
It changes, it evolves.
When he first hired her it’s because he sees something of himself in her.
They’re both Americans and from marginalized communities.
Maybe the way she carried herself in the interview reminded him of himself.
He can no longer be his old self, he can no longer be this alpha.
His scorched Earth methods aren’t working anymore.
All this is to say that their relationship evolves, it’s not a fixed thing.
There are actually flashes in season 2 where we see incidents of it flipping.
How do you think what we learn in that conversation sheds light on what viewers know about Eric?
Add to that, Eric was sleeping with his fellow grad who eventually became Newman’s wife.
What it reveals is that he wants to keep Newman alive for him.
He needs Newman in ways that may not be obvious, it keeps his engine running.
Even if the person has died, Eric needs to keep certain parts of him alive.
Maybe his scorched Earth, alpha personality was adopted and then honed in kind of tribute to Newman.
In a similar respect, Eric and Danny also have a complex, almost adversarial dynamic.
What do you think introducing him adds to what the audience knows about Eric?
Eric doesn’t know what to do with that.
He’s off balance for a lot of season 2.
The circumstances are far from ideal, but what was it like to see Eric’s home life?
Was there anything about it that surprised you?
It’s so great.
I long to discover different parts of him.
We see him in the presence of people, his kids, wife, and ex.
People that would bring out parts of him that we would not ordinarily see on the trading floor.
Practically speaking, being away from the trading floor was a nice break.
His relationship with his wife remains interesting to me.
They’re a weird couple in the way they talk to each other and show affection.
There was a scene in the bathroom and it was informative.
She did one, then Eric did one.
There was just something so creepy about it.
I remain curious about that relationship.
His wife is arguably even more high-powered than he is.
She’s a big deal at Google or something.
Eric ends up in a corner office, which he considers a death sentence.
What can you tease about what he does next?
At the same time, he’s made peace with it.
You will see it go back and forth.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Industryairs Mondays at 9 p.m.
