T.J. Miller who recently left the hit HBO comedy series about a demented team in tech world ‘Silicon Valley’, spoke with Vulture about why he decided to the leave the show after the fourth season. It could have something to do with big movie roles like the blockbuster ‘Deadpool’ and it’s upcoming sequel that could be pulling him away from his conniving modern day dude Earlich Bachman. Here are Miller’s perspective on leaving the show.
On the end of his run at HBO: “It felt like a breakup with HBO. The final phone call was them going like, ‘Well, I don’t think this is the end of Erlich. I still want to see him on television,’ and I was like, ‘I know but I think this is for the best.’”
On Erlich’s decreased importance to the show: “I actually think the writing with Erlich gets funnier and funnier the more inessential and irrelevant he becomes. He’s an annoyance.”
On parting ways with Thomas Middleditch and executive producer Alac Berg: “I think that HBO and Alec Berg, specifically, kind of thought — and I guess apparently Thomas Middleditch — I guess they thought, “Alright, maybe this is the end of the character. But like everything in the show, we’ll sort of solve this and then it’s back to normal.” And they just didn’t imagine that I would be in a position of being like, “I think that’s it.” … I don’t know how smart [Alec] is. He went to Harvard, and we all know those kids are f—ing idiots. That Crimson trash. Those comedy writers in Hollywood are f—ing Harvard graduates and that’s why they’re smug as a bug … I think that in television you usually have one element that is very challenging, very frustrating. It’s an obstacle, right? So you’re doing the best work that you can do. Alec was that for me, and I think I was that for Alec. And a very good article was written that says that Erlich in the show is just this constant annoyance to Richard … And I think in some ways, that is analogous to real life. I think in some ways Thomas Middleditch is … we have a contrarian relationship, like a big brother–little brother relationship. And this is also an opportunity for me to be like, “Let me just step off, dude. Like, just do your f—ing thing. You’re amazing.” I did a two-man improv show with him for a decade. He’s amazing.”
Miller who was born in Colarado, got his start in comedy through improv and stand up in Chicago before moving west where he broke into movies and TV with roles in ‘Cloverfield’,’How To Train Your Dragon’ and ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’. Check out his new HBO stand up special ‘Meticulously Ridiculous’ , here is the trailer.
Miller also roasted the haters on a BBQ with this bit on CBS’s ‘Late Night’ recently.