Irish actor Anthony Boyle will portray FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried in Netflix’s miniseries The Altruists, which is scheduled to premiere on November 19. The production will examine the rise and collapse of the FTX crypto exchange, focusing largely on Bankman-Fried’s personal and business relationship with former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison.

Julia Garner will play Ellison, who led the FTX-linked trading firm and was Bankman-Fried’s romantic and business partner. Boyle discussed his preparation for the role and his view of the former crypto billionaire in a Vanity Fair interview.

Correspondence with Bankman-Fried

Boyle said he emailed Bankman-Fried, who is in prison, more than 100 questions while preparing for the series. According to Boyle, Bankman-Fried answered about 98% of them.

The actor declined to disclose the contents of the correspondence because he had promised to keep it confidential. He said he studied not only Bankman-Fried’s answers but also how he phrased them and which questions he left unanswered, helping Boyle develop his interpretation of the character.

Boyle had previously prepared to play Bankman-Fried in another film project that did not move forward. He spent several months preparing for that role, including work to recreate Bankman-Fried’s voice, before Netflix approached him.

Boyle initially hesitated to accept the new role, but Graham Moore’s script persuaded him. According to the actor, the series focuses heavily on how Bankman-Fried and Ellison pushed each other toward risky decisions.

Boyle’s interpretation: “Broken men build empires”

Boyle described Bankman-Fried as someone whose drive to build a vast financial empire masked deep insecurity rather than necessarily reflecting a sense of superiority over others.

“I played him as someone with deep insecurity,” Boyle explained.

The actor also cited a contradiction between Bankman-Fried’s public advocacy of effective altruism and his pursuit of wealth and recognition. Boyle said those qualities could have coexisted, with Bankman-Fried wanting to do good while also displaying narcissistic tendencies.

Belief that he could fix the crisis

According to Boyle, Bankman-Fried continued trying to control perceptions as the FTX scandal unfolded. The actor suggested that the exchange founder believed he could explain his actions and persuade others that he was right.

Boyle also said Bankman-Fried’s investments in artificial-intelligence companies could have earned him a significant fortune had he not ended up in prison. He cited Anthropic and other AI developers as examples.

At the same time, Boyle emphasized that FTX’s collapse caused real human losses. He said people lost their savings and went bankrupt, while financial difficulties contributed to the breakdown of families and marriages.

“This is what we have to remember when we talk about the show. This collapse had real consequences in the real world,” the actor noted.

Boyle said Bankman-Fried may have viewed financial decisions as another game without fully understanding their consequences for other people. However, he did not want to depict him solely as a villain.

In Boyle’s view, Bankman-Fried may have genuinely believed he was pursuing positive outcomes before his ambitions and decisions harmed others. The actor said the FTX story also raises a broader question about the concentration of power and wealth among technology entrepreneurs.

Former FTX Chief Operating Officer Constance Wang has criticized Netflix over its series about the exchange’s collapse.

Source: Incrypted