Joseph Gordon-Levitt is no stranger to playing real people on screen, having previously played Edward Snowden, hire-wire artist Philippe Petit, an Abraham Lincoln‘s eldest son Robert Todd Lincoln. He’s set to add another real-life figure to his resume, as he’s signed on to play Uber CEO Travis Kalanick in Showtime’s anthology series, Super Pumped.
The show will be based on Mike Isaac‘s excellent book Super Pumped: The Battle For Uber, which chronicled everything from Kalanick’s impressive (but sneaky) rise in the tech industry to his ignominious exit from the company following a boardroom coup.
Uber embodied the highs and lows of Silicon Valley, standing out as both an example of a successful business that can be built from nothing, and also an ugly look at the tech industry’s rampant misogyny, greed and narcissism.
Super Pumped will be the first installment of an anthology series that will explore different stories about the business world in each season. The series hails from Billions duo Brian Koppelman and David Levien, as well as Beth Schacter. All three will write, executive produce and serve as showrunners on the series. The show falls under Koppelman and Levien’s overall deal with Showtime.
“Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a remarkably intelligent and charismatic actor, embodying charm with an unpredictable edge”, said Showtime’s Amy Israel. “We are beyond excited to see what he will bring to the role of Travis Kalanick, the hyper-brilliant and controversial CEO whose ambition and reckless drive threatened the very enterprise he was determined to build.”
After taking some time off after starring in 2016’s Snowden, Gordon-Levitt has returned with roles in Aaron Sorkin‘s The Trial Of The Chicago 7, Netflix superhero film Project Power, and Amazon’s action-thriller 7500. He’s currently in production on Disney’s live-action Pinocchio, and will also create/star/write/direct upcoming comedy-drama series Mr. Corman for Apple TV+.
#Peace.Love.SuperPumped
