Ashton Kutcher Denies Rumors That His Character in ‘The Beauty’ Is Based on Elon Musk

Ashton Kutcher has addressed his character in Ryan Murphy’s body horror sci-fi series The Beauty, and clears the rumors about the wealthy villain being based on real-life figures. In Murphy’s new series, Kutcher portrays Byron Forst, aka the Corporation, a billionaire who has found the secret to making regular people more beautiful, but who decides to ignore the negative consequences of using the substance known as “the Beauty.” Though some viewers may find some similarities between the Corporation and real tech moguls like Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg, Kutcher has debunked the rumors that they inspired him: “It’s not based on any individual.”

The 47-year-old actor recently sat down to chat with The Hollywood Reporter about the new FX series. The Beauty premiered earlier this week, presenting audiences a The Substance-esque story about a deadly virus that kills people after turning them into better versions of themselves. Even though his character has some shades of today’s greedy world leaders, Kutcher denies they helped him come up with the character:

“This guy’s nothing like Mark [Zuckerberg]. Some people have asked me about Elon Musk, and this is not based on Elon Musk. He might be the closest in wealth. I think The Corporation is the richest person in the world. Maybe Elon will be second — but after Starlink goes public, he might go back to first.

“But it’s not based on him. It’s not based on any individual. There’s an air about people in very powerful positions — they have so much at their disposal that it appears as if everything they’re doing has this effortlessness to it. I hope to imbue that on camera.”

Ashton Kutcher Returns to the Spotlight With Ryan Murphy’s ‘The Beauty’

In recent years, Kutcher has kept a low profile, only appearing in lesser-known movies, and mostly focusing on his business ventures. 2026 features his return to television, the medium that saw him play iconic characters like Michael Kelso in That ’70s Show, as well as Walden Schmidt in Two and a Half Men. This time, Kutcher enters drama territory and plays a cold-blooded villain who will do whatever it takes to meet his sinister agenda.

But what is it about The Beauty that convinced the actor to return to television? Apparently, it was all about having the opportunity to work alongside the TV legend behind productions like American Horror Story and Monster: The actor expressed, “I mean, he’s one of the greatest writers on the planet, and you go, ‘All right, let me have a conversation.'” Kutcher was also drawn to the main theme in The Beauty:

“I sat with him, and he told me what this was about, and we had a deep conversation about GLP-1s and what’s happening with Ozempic and Mounjaro and cosmetic surgery – and all the lengths that people are going to in order to become what they define as the most beautiful version of themselves. What if there was a shot that just made you that? What would you be willing to pay for it?”

The actor doesn’t usually play villains, but with The Beauty, he saw an opportunity to flex the acting muscles he hadn’t used before, as he revealed, “It’s a fun challenge to try to justify what appear to be absolutely unjustifiable decisions, right? That becomes this mental gymnastics that you have to play — to not judge your character.”