Black Mirror's Jimmi Simpson Says He Drew Inspiration From Elon Musk to Play USS Callister: Into Infinity's Walton

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for Black Mirror Season 7 "USS Callister: Into Infinity." Read at your own risk!]

When the Black Mirror episode "USS Callister" premiered in 2017, viewers spent more time with the digital clones that Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons) had created of his colleagues than with their real-life counterparts. And while these clones in the virtual reality game Infinity remain at the center of the plot in "USS Callister's" sequel "USS Callister: Into Infinity," the new episode in Season 7 features the real-life counterparts more heavily.

And so much is revealed about Callister Inc.'s CEO James Walton (Jimmi Simpson): He knows absolutely nothing about the game his company's success is built upon (read: Walton has never played Infinity until now), and he will always prioritize Callister's profits over his employees' wellbeing. Oh, and Walton used illegal digital cloning equipment to create a version of Daly within Infinity so that the clone could continue programming Infinity even when the real-life Daly died.

Simpson, who reprised his role in "USS Callister," said he was particularly excited to explore this layer of Walton when he received the script for "Into Infinity." "Right now, the Tech-Billionaire-Out-of-Control is such a present issue," Simpson told TV Guide. "And so it was going to be most fun to me to unpack someone in this tower who is unable or unwilling to see the damage they're causing by indulging every little ego and selfish impulse." 

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The actor said he drew inspiration from a particular tech billionaire for his performance. "I think [Elon] Musk doesn't understand the damage he's doing," Simpson said, before referencing two more billionaires that he didn't name. He continued: "I think all three of them have lost the ability to understand what is best, and they get confused, thinking 'I am best,' and we all have seen that's always led to ruin in our civilization — one man thinking they know more than the community." 

He elaborated on his words: "It's also Rorschachian — to me, there's three guys. But it's whoever your three guys are, that seem to be taking their control and power and messing it up for the rest of us. That's the pertinent element of it."

In "Into Infinity," Walton realizes just how out of depth he is when reports of rogue players in the game — who are in actuality the crew Daly had cloned, now captained by Nanette Cole (Cristin Milioti) — begin to surface. "It was great to show the desperation when that control and power is being threatened," Simpson said. And while he takes extreme measures to try to eradicate these rogue players, his attempts are thwarted. The episode ends with Infinity being shut down and Walton getting arrested. "I was really satisfied by that," the actor shared.

He imagines that it's going to take a while before Walton feels any kind of remorse for his actions — if he ever feels remorse. "He's trying to stop the cop from controlling him getting into the car when he's arrested. He hasn't been broken yet," Simpson said of Walton's final scene. The actor thinks it will take at least one year in prison before his character breaks. "If he has any hope to recover, he's going to start taking stock and understand that he put himself there — and that's the only way anyone like that's ever going to stop doing what they're doing, is to understand that it hurts them." 

As for what Simpson believes will break Walton? "It's the reality that you are not in control," he said. "With Trump, Musk, whoever it is, the idea that they're in control empowers them to make choices that are bad for everyone, and so I think it's the breaking of that belief." 

All episodes of Black Mirror Season 7 are available to stream on Netflix.