And then there was Michael Prince - Billions

There are people that things happen to and people who make things happen. And you need to land on which one you want to be. And when you do that, when you decide what you want to feel, that is the true source of power. And when you get there, people will see what you want them to see on your face. Most people never figure this out. The ones that do, they get to run the world. - Michael Prince

3 years ago, I wrote about my favourite finance TV show "BILLIONS" by Brian Koppelman and David Levien - Review: The Greatest Finance TV Show Of All Time [Eng-Esp] where I spoke about the TV show Billions and all my favourite characters, filled with why I actually like the show and the mentioned characters. But one character I did not talk about in that review 3 years ago is Michael Prince. This is because at the time of writing that review, the character had not been included in the Billion franchise. Now, fast forward to a year later, the series Billion has ended with season 7 as its final season.

Meet the Character

The character Michael Prince was played by Corey Stoll, an American actor who is known for his role as Peter Russo from House of Cards and constant appearances in NBC's TV show Law and Order, which aired from 2010 to 2011. Michael Prince is his full name, and Mike Prince is a shorter form. He is a self-made billionaire who sold his first company to Microsoft, leading him to make his first billion.

But that is the surface story. He actually made his first billion by first capitalizing on his friend and business partner's weakness, addiction to drugs, and living the fast life, by convincing his friend to sell his shares to him while his friend goes on a vacation trip, which will serve as a means of rehabilitation for him.

Rumour has it in the show that Prince knew about the Microsoft offer weigh before offering to buy his friend's share as a means of helping him out. Then went on to sell a huge chunk of the business to Microsoft while retaining some shares due to his ideology of not releasing complete control.

This move alone shows the length Mike is willing to go to just to achieve his agenda or mission, obviously meaning he is not one to be dealt with unlikely.

How I found the character intriguing

After the pandemic, Damian Lewis lost his wife to breast cancer in 2021, Helen McCrory, a renowned actress known for her popular roles as Draco's mother in the Harry Potter movie sequel and Aunty Polly in the well-known British crime drama Peaky Blinders.

This led to Damian Lewis needing some time away from acting to deal with the passing of his wife. Now, here was the problem: Season 5 of Billion had already resumed production after the 2020 pandemic, and Damian Lewis plays the lead role, Bobby Axelrod, the hedge fund billionaire alongside Paul Giamatti as Chuck Rhoades the US Attorney who has tasked himself with bringing down billionaires because he believes they defile the laws of decency due to the enormous wealth they possess and their desire for more. Mind you, Chuck Rhoades comes from wealth as well.

The writers of the show were tasked with how to give Bobby Axelrod a good write-off while continuing the series for another two seasons after season 5. Their solution was the introduction of a new billionaire, Mike Prince, who teams up with Bobby's sworn enemy, Chuck Rhoades, to bring him down or at least get him out of the picture while unravelling his big plan one step at a time.

What makes Mike Prince intriguing and a well-calculated billionaire is how he played Chuck Rhoades, just to use him for his bidding, since Chuck happens to be the man backed by the law and law enforcement, as the man in a high law position. All along, Prince only wants Bobby's Bank and his hedge company, all worth a whopping 15 billion dollars, which Mike bought for pennies on the dollar for 2 billion dollars when Bobby had to flee the country from criminal prosecution coming from the hands of Chuck Rhoades.

This is not only the tip of the iceberg of what Mike Prince has planned for himself. His goal is to become the next US President while bankrolling his campaign with 3 billion dollars of his crypto money, running as an independent candidate.

From the introduction of Mike Prince, the show shifts focus away from Bobby Axelrod, thereby giving the actor Damian Lewis more time to grieve the loss of his wife. You should check out Billions if you haven't already. It is the bomb when you are looking for some good finance drama to binge.

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