HBO's new satire movie Mountainhead does not tell a true story, writer Jesse Armstrong and the main cast were clearly inspired by some real individuals when crafting the Mountainhead characters.

Mountainhead tells the story of four best friends who all happen to be billionaires, with them coming together at the titular private mountain lodge. While there, several worldwide disasters are going on, with their influence directly causing violence and political unrest. The quartet of billionaires spends their time in the lodge analyzing how to take advantage of the situation, expanding their wealth and power. However, they begin to butt heads, with their disagreements eventually leading to a rift that makes things worse for everybody involved.

Cory Michael Smith's Venis Is Likely Based On Elon Musk

Based On His Story & Personality

In Mountainhead, Cory Michael Smith plays Venis, the head of a tech company that is rolling out new forms of artificial intelligence. Venis' products are behind the societal collapse that kicks off the events of Mountainhead, with the other three billionaires often pointing the finger at him. However, Venis doesn't seem to take their criticisms seriously. He instead takes on an accelerationist perspective, believing that things collapsing will allow the world to quickly transform into one that is familiar with and knows how to control artificial intelligence.

Of all the characters in Mountainhead, it is easiest to see Venis' real-life parallel. Although Jesse Armstrong has not confirmed it, Venis seems to be a parody of Elon Musk. Venis' speech patterns, mannerisms, and awkward moments throughout the film feel in line with things Musk has done and said in the past. Venis' political stances and relationship with his artificial intelligence company also parallel Elon Musk's relationship with the social media platform X and its artificial intelligence application, Grok.

Steve Carrell's Randall Feels Like Peter Thiel

Thanks To His Interest In Life Extension Technology

The other character with a very clear parallel in Mountainhead is Steve Carrell's Randall. In the film, Steve Carrell is the oldest and the richest of the four billionaires, with him taking on a position of leadership among the group. His venture capitalism and frequent investments align with former PayPal CEO Peter Thiel already. However, Randall's interest in having his mind transferred into technology is similar to Peter Thiel's real-life interest in life extension, a topic that has become commonly associated with the wealthy capitalist.

Ramy Youssef & Jason Schwartzman Could Be Amalgamations Of Various People

Schwartzman's Character May Not Be Based On Anyone

While Cory Michael Smith and Steve Carrel's characters have clear real-life parallels, the same can't be said for Ramy Youssef and Jason Schwartzman. If Ramy Youssef's Jeff had to be pinned to one real-life inspiration, it would probably be Mark Zuckerberg. His youth and rivalry with Mountainhead's Elon Must stand in parallel with those real-life attributes of Zuckerberg. However, traces of Sam Altman and other real-life tech investors can be seen, with him seeming like an amalgamation of several individuals.

Jason Schwartzman's Hugo Van Yalk doesn't seem to have a real-life parallel at all, and this is intentional. Among the group, Hugo is the outsider, with him being the poorest of the quartet. He is weird, a push-over, and a suck-up, with him desperately trying to win the approval of Randall. Schwartzman's character is incredibly fun, but his role in the story seems to be a commentary on the influence that the other figures have rather than a parody of a real-life billionaire himself. However, it is impossible to know until Mountainhead writer Jesse Armstrong confirms this.