‘Industry’ Stars Ken Leung and Myha’la Break Down That Apparent Departure — and Reveal the Trump Detail Edited Out

The longtime co-stars and scene partners discuss season four's pivotal turn: "This is 'Industry' and HBO, it's got to end this way. " 'Industry' Simon Ridgway/HBO Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text [This story contains major spoilers from season four, episode six of Industry, “Dear Henry.”] One thing that Industry has become known for — at least among the cast — is the fact that showrunners Mickey Down and Konrad Kay don’t give out the scripts ahead of the season. That means the HBO show’s actors often find themselves as shocked as the rest of us by the writer’s decisions. When Ken Leung and Myha’la started filming season four, they had no idea what fate would befall their characters, their friendship and their nascent fund SternTao. “When I read episode six, I was like ‘damn, they killed my bro,'” says Myha’la. Related Stories TV Toheeb Jimoh on His Big 'Industry' Moment and Where It Leaves Tender: "Whitney Is Going to Have to Pull a Rabbit Out of a Hat" TV 'Industry' Star Sagar Radia on Rishi's Ultimate Leap of Faith: "It's Almost His Redemption" In “Dear Henry,” Eric Tao’s (Leung) proverbial chickens come home to roost in a big way; just as the traders of SternTao are narrowing in on their takedown of banking app Tender and when it seems like its principles may finally get a little bit of what they want, Eric gets blackmailed out of the finance business altogether. “I literally was like, that’s crazy,” adds Myha’la, who plays Harper Stern. “And it’s so sad. We worked so hard to build this thing and now you’re just going to leave me.” Eric’s (apparent) departure from the world of Industry marks not only the end of SternTao, but an (apparent) culmination of Leung and Myha’la’s four-year-long creative partnership. The two actors joined THR a few days before the episode aired to discuss what it all means. *** First things first: Do you know how much SternTao spends on their hotel suite “office”? KEN LEUNG Eric says it’s $100,000 a month, but that obviously doesn’t include the laundry. But it might be hyperbole, it’s probably more like $15,000 or $20,000. MYHA’LA If it was that much then Harper would absolutely be asking, why don’t we put this money into the fund? That’s an insane amount of money not to be investing. Like, why is he using his daughter’s trust for a hotel? ? What is an element of Eric and Harper’s careers that you would actually want? LEUNG When they work well together, their partnership. MYHA’LA But I feel like you and I have that as scene partners. So I’m like — the money? If I just had the money and didn’t have to deal with the rest of the job. When you started working on the show, did you know right away that you would click as scene partners? LEUNG That’s a good question, and I think we did, but I don’t know that I articulated it that way. The first scene we filmed was Harper’s interview, and I had just met you [Myha’la] a couple of hours before. We met for the first time in the Bad Wolf offices; remember that bear? There were a bunch of props from other shows and there was this big stuffed bear. Lena [Dunham] was there, too, it was just the three of us. MYHA’LA I just remember thinking, “Ken is the grown-up.” Pay attention to him. He knows some shit I don’t know, so just pay attention. Now that you’re four seasons in and there are new cast members, do people think of you that same way? MYHA’LA I think they definitely do. I don’t know that I am. I mean, I am technically a grown-up, and I’m seasoned on the shows. The two of us are the ones who were there from the beginning. But I don’t take myself too seriously. I like to have fun when I’m working. So I would say that I’m a fun aunt. I bring the vibes. LEUNG I think that’s all true. She led us all into a dance one day on the balcony of Pierpoint. It was the episode that everyone was in those crazy costumes. MYHA’LA I wasn’t even working that day. I just came in and yelled, everybody dance! And they were all like, why are you here? When the new folks joined the show, what’s the one thing you wanted them to know about the way Industry works? LEUNG I remind people that it’s no mistake that they are here. I remember when I started, it’s about this foreign world of finance that most of us — certainly myself — don’t know anything about. So there’s this feeling of, do I belong here? I think I speak for all of us when I say we all entered the show in this way of thinking, “what is this?” MYHA’LA Except maybe Sagar [Radia]. He knew a thing or two. O