When Ryan Murphy calls, you answer the phone. That, at least, seems to be the consensus in Hollywood — and for Ashton Kutcher, it was no different.
After three years of being — somewhat — out of the spotlight, with his last onscreen role coming in the Netflix rom-com Your Place or Mine opposite Reese Witherspoon, Kutcher still “didn’t feel like it was the time to come back,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter.
“Honestly, I have young kids and I’m very involved in their lives, coaching flag football and doing all these things. And I have a venture capital firm that I run,” Kutcher says. “I was like, ‘I’m not!’ I was like, ‘I’m not interested in doing anything right now.’”
That is, until Murphy came calling.
Murphy — who co-created The Beauty alongside Matt Hodgson — reached out with what Kutcher describes as an intriguing pitch. “I mean, he’s one of the greatest writers on the planet, and you go, ‘All right, let me have a conversation,’” Kutcher recalls.
“I sat with him and he told me what this was about, and we had a deep conversation about GLP-1s and what’s happening with Ozempic and Mounjaro and cosmetic surgery — and all the lengths that people are going to in order to become what they define as the most beautiful version of themselves.”
The 47-year-old remembers Murphy posing a key question of the series: “What if there was a shot that just made you that? What would you be willing to pay for it?”
The Monster co-creator then revealed he had written Kutcher’s character specifically for him. “You are this character and I want you to play it,” Kutcher says.
His character, known as The Corporation, 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 “The Beauty,” which promises its takers unimaginable physical attractiveness and youth.
But the drug comes with serious — and dangerous — side effects. That moral corruption is reflected in The Corporation’s 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: “Every night I pray for your death.”
Playing a villain marks a notable shift for Kutcher, who has long been associated with comedy. His credits include That ’70s Show, Dude, Where’s My Car?, Two and a Half Men and Just Married. Stepping into something darker was a change he felt excited about.
“It’s a fun challenge to try to justify what appear to be absolutely unjustifiable decisions, right?” Kutcher explains. “That becomes this mental gymnastics that you have to play — to not judge your character and just go out as if, ‘No, this is the way things have to happen.’”
Given The Corporation’s 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.
“This guy’s nothing like Mark,” he says. “Some 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 — but after Starlink goes public, he might go back to first,” Kutcher adds with a laugh.
“But it’s not based on him,” he continues. “It’s not based on any individual. There’s an air about people in very powerful positions — they have so much at their disposal that it appears as if everything they’re doing has this effortlessness to it. I hope to imbue that on camera.”
Kutcher also points out the fast growth of AI as another connection to the show’s larger questions about perfection and sacrifice.
“We 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,” he says. “What happens when we commoditize intelligence? What becomes the most important thing? Is it kindness? Is it empathy? Or is it beauty?”
“That’s a very poignant question,” Kutcher concludes, “and that’s the subject of the show. In the hands of a master, it comes up masterfully.”
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The Beauty airs Wednesdays on FX through its finale on March 4. The Hollywood Reporter’s coverage includes an ongoing list of the cast and characters, while FX’s The Beauty Official Podcast, hosted by Evan Ross Katz, will break down each episode’s biggest moments and behind-the-scenes commentary. New episodes of the podcast will debut on Hulu and Disney+ alongside each episode’s premiere.
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