John Karna – Valley of the Boom

By starrymag | May 19, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) What made you want to be a part of the “Valley of the Boom?”

 

A) Reading the script for the first time, I found it to be such a disruptive and bizarre way to tell a story about the tech boom in the 90’s – not a very sexy topic for TV show. I loved how it immediately broke the fourth wall and made you understand you were watching something truly unique. I was also very grateful to be able to say the words ‘goat balls and broken glass’ on TV. Sorry Mom!

 

Q) Were you familiar with Marc Andreessen before starring as him on the show?

 

A) To be honest, I knew very little about Marc before this, but I definitely remember Netscape. You never forget your first browser!

 

Q) What kind of research did you do for your portrayal?

 

A) I read as much as I could about the startup world in the early 90’s. Some really excellent books that helped me out were Netscape Timeby Jim Clark (who founded Netscape with Marc) and Michael Lewis’s The New New Thing. I also would watch an interview Marc did for Charlie Rose in 1996 every morning before going into work.

 

Q) What did you find challenging about portraying Marc?

 

A) I found that the most challenging aspect of playing him was just how little footage I had of Marc at that time, beyond the occasional press photos and business interviews he seemed forced to do. Most of my choices then came from what others would say about him at the time, which isn’t necessarily a reliable source of truth either. I tried as much as I could to honor the unique and singular facets of his deep intellect while also making sure to steer clear of coming off like an automaton. His love of systems and this new technological frontier drove him the whole way and I wanted to inject as much of that in my performance as possible.

 

Q) What were some of your most memorable moments from filming the series?

 

A) Truthfully, my favorite memory might just be the first time I got to film a scene walking down the Netscape hallway with Bradley Whitford, who plays Jim Barksdale. For just a brief second it felt like I was in “The West Wing” and it felt incredibly surreal!

 

Q) What did you learn about the tech industry that most surprised you while filming?

 

A) I was surprised at just how dynamic and fluid the industry really is. The internet is not just one invention, but many different advances in technology layered on top of each other and it continues to be like that today. Marc says this in the show, but the truth of the matter is if you succeed at all in the tech world it is only for that brief moment that you get to be kings of the day. You have to keep working and pushing to stay on top (and profitable).

 

Q) Technology is advancing all the time. What do you think it is about Silicon Valley that makes it the perfect place for this to thrive?

 

A) Silicon Valley has just always been a place that favors the greatest, most disruptive idea over anything else. People go there to create their own paradigm, rather than follow a set of rules put in front of them. Hopefully, this will be the case for years to come.

 

Q) What do you hope viewers take away from watching “Valley of the Boom?”

 

A) By the end of the show I would hope people can see that the tech boom in the 90’s was just like any other gold rush throughout history. The promise of such insane amounts of money attracted visionaries, conmen and everyone in between. I think it is so important to think about the beginnings of something we now all use every day without a second thought because it could then spark a conversation on where the internet can go from here. It’s my hope that we will continue to improve upon what we have before us.

 

Q) We loved seeing you in Lady Bird. Talk about working with Greta Gerwig.

 

A) She is so lovely. It’s such a gift to work with such an empathetic artist like her because there is an incredible, generous atmosphere that gets created on set. I really loved the way everyone on the crew wore name tags every day, so no matter how many days you were working with everyone you could call each person by their name. I would work with her again in a heartbeat.

 

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) I’m just floored and deeply grateful to anyone that has enjoyed watching me act in anything! I am such a fan of great film and television and to be a part of this conversation at all feels like some kind of dream. Many, many, many thanks!