I had the incredible experience of playing myself on HBO’s Silicon Valley, as the emcee of TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Battlefield.
Here’s what I said when TechCrunch asked me about the experience:
It was totally surreal, like some kind of drug trip that gave me déjà vu every five minutes. They had the real Disrupt signs, the name tags — even the stage itself felt right.
Of course there were differences. More cameras and hairspray than I’m used to, and there’s a lot of repetition in the production process, with the same scene being shot from multiple angles. Also, “Erlich Bachman” is easier to pronounce than many of the real founders’ names.
I remember asking Mike Judge how I should sit in my chair, and he said to sit how I usually sit, and I had a minor existential crisis. I decided to try to keep my back straight, this being TV and all.
Just nuts, right?
You can find me in Season 1, Episodes 7 and 8, and don’t miss TechCrunch Battlefield Editor Sam O’Keefe’s report on all the work that went into building the set.