51 GREATEST FICTIONAL BAD GUYS

#46. BUDDY ACKERMAN from SWIMMING WITH SHARKS.

For those of you who have never heard of SWIMMING WITH SHARKS, it’s a parable about wide-eyed Guy (Frank Whaley) who loves the movies, wants to write them and then loses his soul to a screaming, abusive and egomaniacal boss: a studio exec named Buddy Ackerman (Kevin Spacey).

Although my own experiences as “assistant” may not have even come close to what Whaley’s character endured, when you’re in it, you’re in it, and not all the Tums, migraine relief and melatonin in the world can help you get through the week. Working for a guy like Tom Sizemore had a sense of trippiness to it as if I was an audience participant in a satirical play where the lead character was a baffling lunatic. But the worst job I endured was for an executive producer on a TV pilot. He was passive-aggressive and spoiled. To him, a phone conference scheduled for 10 am did not start at 9:59:59, nor did it start at 10:00:01. If it wasn’t 10:00:00 exactly, you’d have some serious explaining to do. What is it about horrible bosses that we allow them to rule over us emotionally? The fear of unemployment? The promise of brass rings to come? Status? Approval? Shame? There is a weird, unspoken agreement that comes with working under the Buddy Ackerman’s of the world. It’s a social contract that says “you can abuse me and I will accept it.” The real trick is holding onto your dignity for the duration of the ride.