Boyd Holbrook, best known for his turn as a villain in the 2017 film "Logan," has joined the cast of Apple TV+’s "The Morning Show" for its fourth season as Brodie “Bro” Hartman, a rising podcaster whose confrontational persona puts him at odds with Jennifer Aniston’s Alex Levy.
Holbrook called the new role a career milestone, telling The Post that working with Aniston was "a bit of a bucket list [moment]. I can check that off." He described meeting Aniston as exceeding expectations, saying, "They say don't meet your heroes, but we met!"
Season 4 of "The Morning Show," which premieres Sept. 17 on Apple TV+, is set in 2024 and follows the network as it prepares for the Paris Olympics while wrestling with topical issues such as artificial intelligence. The ensemble cast includes Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, along with Billy Crudup, Mark Duplass, Greta Lee, Jeremy Irons, Karen Pittman and Jon Hamm; Holbrook appears as a high-profile external force who disrupts the newsroom’s dynamics.
In interviews with The Post, Holbrook declined to model his performance on any single real-world figure. Asked whether he looked to Joe Rogan for inspiration, he said, "not really," while acknowledging, "I'm very aware of Joe Rogan." He added, lightly, that he "watched a lot of Oprah" to prepare for the role. Holbrook said he approached Bro Hartman as a character that emerges from the writing rather than as a direct imitation of a particular media personality.
The actor described Bro as part of a "manosphere" media culture and said other characters in the series debate whether Bro truly believes what he broadcasts or whether he is performing a persona. "I'm always [searching] for a look at what this guy is," Holbrook told The Post. "He blows a lot of smoke. So you don't actually look at what's going on inside his individual snowflake fragility."
Holbrook said joining an established series presented its own challenges. "You're the new guy. Everybody's already made friends. Where do I fit in?" he said. He called the part "so fun to do" and said he planned to explore the character's vulnerabilities as the season progresses, noting, "Where is his Achilles heel? I know it's in there, somewhere."
At the Season 4 premiere at New York City's Museum of Modern Art on Sept. 9, Holbrook attended with cast members including Aniston, Witherspoon, Reese Witherspoon, Jeremy Irons and Marion Cotillard. Reviewers and audiences will see how Bro Hartman's provocative style affects newsroom power dynamics when the new season debuts.
Holbrook praised Aniston's performance on the show, saying he believed she was doing some of the best work of her career in the series. "It's taking all the best bits that she does, not just the funny stuff, but the most dramatic, and putting it into this role," he told The Post. He said he tried simply "to not be weird" during scenes opposite her.
Season 4 continues the series' focus on the intersection of media, celebrity and contemporary cultural debates, adding a podcasting antagonist who tests the boundaries between on-air authenticity and manufactured outrage. As the season unfolds, Holbrook said he will look for deeper layers to the character beyond the public bravado on display.
