Michael Angarano Breaks Down Mark’s Misunderstandings in Margo’s Got Money Problems

Sometimes, people with the best intentions can cause harm to others. In Margo’s Got Money Problems, that person is Margo’s messy professor and the father of her child, Mark — played by Michael Angarano.

Even though Mark is “antagonistic” in Season 1, there’s always room for interpretation. I had the opportunity to sit with Angarano to discuss what makes Mark a misunderstood character and his time working on the Apple TV series.

Mark’s actions suggest he is the opposite of what Margo wants in a father. Still, Angarano suggested he is more complex than that: “I don’t think any of these characters on this show are portrayed or presented as two dimensional characters. To consider Mark as a two-dimensional character would have been a really missed opportunity.”

 

“It’s so much more interesting, grounded, and realistic to present him as not a true villainous character. He’s not a Shakespearean villain, so to speak. Everything he does is with good reason,” the actor continued.

Additionally, Angarano detailed how Mark views himself as superior to others, but still relies on those very people to do what’s best.

“What he presents in the beginning of the season is facade; it’s a house of cards,” Angarano explained.

“How he reacts to Margot when she talks about Harvard, there’s this authority to him. Of course, he’s an authority figure, but there’s this social authority, like a higher judgment. By the end, Mark is a much more stripped-down version of that. You come to understand why, but I always looked at his arc as a deconstructed man. I think Mark does what he does for good reason, at least good reason to him. It’s not arbitrary.”

“By the end, I think he’s trying to do what he views as the last dignified thing he can do, which is to try and get custody. It’s the last shred of accountability he can take, albeit too late.”

Looking back on other characters he’s played, Angarano selected two characters that best represent the challenge of playing a grey-area character like Mark.

‘I did a film called Sacramento and I played a character named Ricky,” Angarano recalled. “Ricky was mischievous, almost like a trickster, and really hard to pin down. I think Mark, at his worst, has that character trait.”

“I think at his core, he’s a decent man and I think he’s probably a decent dad and he wants to be a good person.”

Angarano’s answer also touched on another series he recently starred in, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy.

“That character I play, Sam Amorantes, he’s a lawyer, and he’s defending John Wayne Gacy. There’s a little bit of that in Mark as he presents this authority figure and this guy with a moral compass, even though Mark is pretty shattered.”

As much as viewers disliked Mark, the show gives the troubled professor his due on Margo’s Got Money Problems Season 1 Episode 4, “Buddies.” 

Angarano reminisced about filming that pivotal scene with his co-star: “It was satisfying to act that scene. It was great just because having a scene with Nick [Offerman], I’ve known Nick since I was a child, so that was incredibly fun to do.”

“I think it’s a real come-up scene for Mark. It’s a perfect point of the season where these worlds collide, and it won’t be the last time they collide either. This is such a great, pivotal scene because really the show changes from that scene on.”

With Season 2 now in development, Angarano also shared his hopes for Margo and Mark’s future.

“You’re going to see Mark and Margo attempt co-parenting and Margo’s a very empathetic character,” Angarano teased. “We’ll see the olive branch that she extends to Mark and we’ll see how he takes it. It’ll be really interesting to see their family start to form and what that looks like.”

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All episodes of Margo’s Got Money Problems Season 1 are now streaming on Apple TV.

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