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Ike Barinholtz is stepping into the shoes of tech billionaire Elon Musk in Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming film “Artificial,” and he’s already giving fans a taste of his transformation. At the Emmy Awards, the actor offered a brief glimpse of what appears to be a spot-on impression of the controversial Tesla CEO. The film will chronicle Sam Altman’s dramatic firing and subsequent rehiring at OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.
“I start by poisoning my brain by watching lots of interviews with him,” Barinholtz told Variety on the Emmy’s red carpet. “Luca Guadagnino is a real genius and brings stuff out of people, so any trepidation I had going into it was instantly assuaged by that genius.”
The actor — who currently stars in AppleTV+’s “The Studio” — explained his approach to portraying Musk with careful consideration. “They’re definitely going for… in a movie like that, you definitely want to go for an accurate performance, and not kind of like, if I was on MadTV…” he said before launching into a brief but remarkably accurate impression that left fans impressed.
Barinholtz won’t be alone in bringing this tech-world drama to life.
Oscar nominee Andrew Garfield will portray Sam Altman, while Monica Barbaro takes on the role of Mira Murati. “Anora” breakout Yura Borisov is set to play Ilya Sutskever. The impressive ensemble also includes Cooper Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, Chris O’Dowd, Cooper Koch, Billie Lourd, and Mark Rylance — creating what’s shaping up to be one of the most anticipated casts of the year.
When asked if he’d reached out to Musk for advice on his performance, Barinholtz was quick to dismiss the idea. “I’m okay. Not really,” he said with characteristic humor. “He’s famous enough that you get it… All I hope is that if he puts me into a gulag, it’s one with a lot of my friends. That way we can have a party.”
Ike Barinholtz is playing Elon Musk in Luca Guadagnino’s “Artificial.” He has not reached out to Musk and says of the prep process:
“I started poising my brain by watching lot of interviews with him.” #Emmys pic.twitter.com/VUbuofPwnd
— Variety (@Variety) September 14, 2025
Despite his relatively brief time in the spotlight, Barinholtz’s impression has already garnered significant attention online. One Twitter user noted: “His jokey ‘oh my god it’s so epic’ at about 30 seconds in is not only a perfect delivery but he even makes a perfect Elon face. This is going to rule.”
His jokey “oh my god it’s so epic” at about 30 seconds in is not only a perfect delivery but he even makes a perfect Elon face. This is going to rule https://t.co/WIBjuRGCw4
— Justin🦩Boldaji (@justinboldaji) September 15, 2025
Barinholtz’s current series, “The Studio,” made Emmy history this year as the most-nominated first-year comedy series ever with 23 nominations. While Barinholtz didn’t take home the Outstanding Supporting Actor trophy, the show had a tremendous night overall, winning Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Directing, and Seth Rogen secured the Outstanding Lead Actor award.
The upcoming film “Artificial” continues Hollywood’s fascination with tech moguls and the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence landscape — a subject that’s become increasingly relevant as AI tools like ChatGPT reshape industries worldwide.
