10 Years Later, Josh Pence On Being The Hidden Lead In ‘The Social Network’

“There's an interesting perspective you can have when you are faceless.”

This year marks the 10 year anniversary of The Social Network, the unexpected blockbuster which brought to life the dramatic origin story of Facebook. The film is driven by powerful performances from its talented cast of lead actors, including Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, and Josh Pence. But, via some groundbreaking visual effects, audiences never actually saw the face of the last name on that list.

“When I first got a call about it my agents didn't really quite understand what it was going to be,” said Josh Pence. “They just kind of said...there's a very good chance that we will not see you in this movie, at least not your face.”

When David Fincher and team couldn’t find actual twin actors to play the formidable antagonists of the Winklevoss brothers, they opted instead to cast both Armie Hammer and Josh Pence. And though the two share roughly the same build, they couldn’t necessarily pass as identical twins. So, after Pence and Hammer performed their parts, visual artists went in and superimposed a second Armie Hammer performance onto Josh Pence’s body.

The effect is seamless, and does well to sell the domineering double presence of the Winklevii. However, the experience leaves Pence with a unique perspective on the project.

“There was something incredible that I was able to glean from that experience just by virtue of the fact that I was a participant, but I was also an observer,” said Pence.

I recently got to speak further with Josh Pence about collaborating with Armie Hammer, bringing his athletic background into the film, and navigating a world increasingly changed by tech innovations. Below is a summary of our conversation.

Anhar Karim:  So, when David Fincher explained this to you, your role and how you’d collaborate with Armie Hammer, how did you react?

Josh Pence: You know, that's a tough moment for any actor. And part of it too was at that point there wasn't a whole lot of exposure to motion capture. Obviously there was some of that happening with Andy Serkis, and Fincher with Benjamin Button. But it was still kind of like, what is this? And even when I first got a call about it my agents didn't really quite understand what it was going to be.

I got that call between, I guess it was the third and fourth meeting, which would have been between Aaron and David. And they just kind of said look, I know this is going to sound strange. We don't really know exactly how this is going to work. But it sounds like you're going to read Tyler [Winklevoss], and Armie's going to do Cameron. And then there's a very good chance that we will not see you in this movie, at least not your face.

You kind of gotta say, alright well, obviously I'm going to go and take this meeting. David Fincher is a legend, and somebody whose work I've admired for so long. So, yeah you just kind of gotta go.

AK: The twins you play are very much in sync, almost mirroring each other in every scene. What was it like coordinating that with Armie, deciding who did what?

JP: That was definitely a process that had to happen expediently out of circumstance, because Armie and I were really the last two major leads of the film to be cast. And that was about, if I recall correctly, just three weeks before shooting. So you know, there was obviously a physical transformation that needed to occur. There was even more importantly, as you're alluding to, kind of the psychic, twin emotional connection that had to happen. And you know, the example I like to give is: when you sit down at the breakfast table, who's grabbing the salt first?

So we worked with a coach a little bit, just to form a basis and help us gel. But I actually think that the rowing is the thing that brought Armie and I together. I was a rower for four years in high school, and then a year in college. And I believe, and I've tried to figure this out, but I believe I rowed against the Winklevosses at the Foot of the Charles in the fall of 2001.

AK: Oh wow.

JP: And then I herniated a disc in my back. So, the beginning of my sophomore year I had to stop rowing. Which was especially crushing for me because that was the year that my team went to Henley, and did extremely well at Henley. And you don't get to go to Henley every year. That's not something that just happens all the time.

AK: But through this film, in a way, you were able to go later on.

JP: Yeah. I remember back then I was on the side watching my team and cheering them on. But it was hard because I wasn't there, you know? And then in this strange twist of fate, I ended up getting to do it in movie world.

Filming [at Henley] was a trip. It's like playing a brief football scrimmage at the halftime of the Super Bowl, in between the entertainment and whatever else has to happen. And nobody really wants you there. You know it's kind of like, okay do your little thing and get out of the way. This is the Super Bowl of the Super Bowl. It's 150-160 years old, probably even older than that, with three times as many people there. So we had two shots of that. We had to go down the course, twice, with cameras everywhere. And then that's it. It was pretty neat.

AK: Yeah and the rowing scenes really stand out visually in a film full of computer screens and board room meetings. It characterizes the Winklevoss twins.

JP: Yeah, the rowing stuff was really fun to do. And I think that helped Armie and I stay bonded throughout the whole thing. Because when principal photography began, we had probably four months to keep training, and then go to do Henley.

And to Armie's credit man, he stepped up. Because obviously I rowed at a pretty high level, but he'd never rowed before. And all of a sudden he's in an eight, going down the biggest course in the world and he's surrounded by one actor, and then six British national team contenders.

So we would go out there and shoot. And that was a week and half, with a camera in the middle of the boat. And that was really, really tough because it made the boat very heavy and had a lot of drag. And those national guys were absolute beasts and they really gave it everything they had, which I was impressed by. Because they were training for the Olympics- what did they need to pull their heart out with a camera and a boat and a couple of actors for?

AK: This film continues to stay relevant and be talked about a decade after its release. What do you think it is about it that keeps people coming back?

JP: To me it's really a tragedy, you know? The film is like a classic Greek tragedy, and it's meant to impart a lesson. And, I don't want to say obviously, but to me it feels pretty clear that we have yet to learn that lesson.

When I think about The Social Network and I think about [social media], I think: what was missing, that all of a sudden we needed this thing? What is this providing us? Or is this actually just creating more problems? I don't know. We've evolved for so many years as a species and learned to communicate, and then all of a sudden just this battering ram comes in. I think we've clearly gotten worse at communicating.

But you know the thing that I love about The Social Network, and David as a director, is that— he's cynical and pessimistic, but I know at the heart of it he loves people. Even though he probably wants to wring most their necks half the time like we all do. I think David, and Aaron of course in his writing, captured the essence that there is a humanity behind all of this. And that's really why in so many ways it is a tragedy.

AK: Ben Mezrich, the author of the book The Social Network is based on, actually wrote another book focusing solely on the Winklevoss twins. That book is being made into a movie so, if you got the call, would you want to play the twins again?

JP:  Look, Armie and I always had an agreement that if there was a sequel, it would be my face on his body.

I would love to read the script and see what that story angle is. Of course I would consider it. If there was anybody even remotely involved like the last project, I would be a fool not to.

You know, I just will say that I think as bizarre as that experience was in so many ways, there's an interesting perspective you can have when you are faceless. And not to like hit the metaphor on the head too hard, but it just kind of comes to me that there was something incredible that I was able to glean from that experience just by virtue of the fact that I was a participant, but I was also an observer. And I had this different mindset. And it's not the mindset you necessarily want to have as an actor. But that's what you're thrust into.

I just think a lot about this road that we're going down [with technology], and how we can just try to find the path that is going to lead us where we want to go. And maybe that will lead back to something that is more analog. I truly think there could be a future generation that will think an Apple Watch and iPhone is what old people do. And I kind of hope that happens. I really do hope that we realize that this is a moment we learn from. We evolve and keep what works, but get rid of most of the rest.

This interview is part of a series commemorating the ten year anniversary of The Social Network by speaking with some of the key people who were involved in the project. To read the full series, follow my page on Forbes. You can also find me on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.