{"id":429625,"date":"2026-01-22T09:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T09:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/429625\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T09:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T09:09:09","slug":"why-ashton-kutcher-wanted-to-play-the-villain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/429625\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Ashton Kutcher Wanted to Play the Villain"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWhen Ryan Murphy<\/a> calls, you answer the phone. That, at least, seems to be the consensus in Hollywood \u2014 and for Ashton Kutcher<\/a>, it was no different.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter three years of being \u2014 somewhat \u2014 out of the spotlight, with his last onscreen role coming in the Netflix rom-com Your Place or Mine<\/a> opposite Reese Witherspoon, Kutcher still \u201cdidn\u2019t feel like it was the time to come back,\u201d he tells The Hollywood Reporter.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHonestly, I have young kids and I\u2019m very involved in their lives, coaching flag football and doing all these things. And I have a venture capital firm that I run,\u201d Kutcher says. \u201cI was like, \u2018I\u2019m not!\u2019 I was like, \u2018I\u2019m not interested in doing anything right now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat is, until Murphy came calling.<\/p>\n

\n\tMurphy \u2014 who co-created The Beauty<\/a> alongside Matt Hodgson \u2014 reached out with what Kutcher describes as an intriguing pitch. \u201cI mean, he\u2019s one of the greatest writers on the planet, and you go, \u2018All right, let me have a conversation,\u2019\u201d Kutcher recalls.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI sat with him and he told me what this was about, and we had a deep conversation about GLP-1s and what\u2019s happening with Ozempic and Mounjaro and cosmetic surgery \u2014 and all the lengths that people are going to in order to become what they define as the most beautiful version of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 47-year-old remembers Murphy posing a key question of the series: \u201cWhat if there was a shot that just made you that? What would you be willing to pay for it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Monster co-creator then revealed he had written Kutcher\u2019s character specifically for him. \u201cYou are this character and I want you to play it,\u201d Kutcher says. <\/p>\n

\n\tHis character, known as The Corporation<\/a>, is introduced aboard a yacht in Croatia, living a life of extreme luxury made possible by his trillion-dollar empire. He is unleashing the super drug called \u201cThe Beauty,\u201d which promises its takers unimaginable physical attractiveness and youth.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut the drug comes with serious \u2014 and dangerous \u2014 side effects. That moral corruption is reflected in The Corporation\u2019s personal life, particularly his troubled relationship with his wife Franny Forst (Isabella Rossellini), who disapproves of his venture. She says to him in the trailer<\/a>: \u201cEvery night I pray for your death.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tPlaying a villain marks a notable shift for Kutcher, who has long been associated with comedy. His credits include That \u201970s Show,\u00a0Dude, Where\u2019s My Car?,\u00a0Two and a Half Men and Just Married. Stepping into something darker was a change he felt excited about. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s a fun challenge to try to justify what appear to be absolutely unjustifiable decisions, right?\u201d Kutcher explains. \u201cThat becomes this mental gymnastics that you have to play \u2014 to not judge your character and just go out as if, \u2018No, this is the way things have to happen.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGiven The Corporation\u2019s extreme wealth and power, comparisons to real-life billionaires such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have been questioned as the source of inspiration for fans online. Kutcher, however, is quick to shut down those rumors.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis guy\u2019s nothing like Mark,\u201d he says. \u201cSome people have asked me about Elon Musk, and this is not based on Elon Musk. He might be the closest in wealth. I think The Corporation is the richest person in the world. Maybe Elon will be second \u2014 but after Starlink goes public, he might go back to first,\u201d Kutcher adds with a laugh. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cBut it\u2019s not based on him,\u201d he continues. \u201cIt\u2019s not based on any individual. There\u2019s an air about people in very powerful positions \u2014 they have so much at their disposal that it appears as if everything they\u2019re doing has this effortlessness to it. I hope to imbue that on camera.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tKutcher also points out the fast growth of AI as another connection to the show\u2019s larger questions about perfection and sacrifice.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe went from a world where the most valued thing was brute force, because that allowed you to do more work. Then the industrial revolution happened, and now we have the knowledge economy,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat happens when we commoditize intelligence? What becomes the most important thing? Is it kindness? Is it empathy? Or is it beauty?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThat\u2019s a very poignant question,\u201d Kutcher concludes, \u201cand that\u2019s the subject of the show. In the hands of a master, it comes up masterfully.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t***<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Beauty airs Wednesdays on FX<\/a> through its finale on March 4. The Hollywood Reporter\u2019s coverage<\/a> includes an ongoing list of the cast and characters<\/a>, while FX\u2019s The Beauty Official Podcast, hosted by Evan Ross Katz, will break down each episode\u2019s biggest moments and behind-the-scenes commentary. New episodes of the podcast will debut on Hulu and Disney+ alongside each episode\u2019s premiere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Ryan Murphy calls, you answer the phone. That, at least, seems to be the consensus in Hollywood…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":429626,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[184887,64,63,447,134,29606,7180,181037],"class_list":["post-429625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-ashton-kutcher","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-fx","tag-ryan-murphy","tag-the-beauty"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=429625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/429626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=429625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=429625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=429625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}