While not quite gaining the same attention as other network juggernauts like Mad Men, The Walking Dead, or Breaking Bad, AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire has slowly been growing into one of the most satisfying prestige dramas on the network. The ‘80s-set series follows the tech exploits of the upstart company, Mutiny, as they try to stake their claim in the computing world. The third season sees the plucky programmers relocating from Texas to Silicon Valley to truly test what this team is made of.

Lee Pace plays Joe MacMillan, the series’ constantly reinventing renegade. He’s almost like an anti-Don Draper. He’s an unpredictable eccentric who’s constantly towing the line between genius and masochist. The show’s latest season puts Joe in his most exciting position yet, and one that places him in a very interesting role in relation to everyone else on the show. I got to talk to Lee about the new territory his character explores the season, the show’s slow expansion, and who exactly Joe MacMillan really is.

DEN OF GEEK: Joe’s gone through so many re-inventions at this point. What does his new role in life mean to him and will it stick?

LEE PACE: Joe is a very fluid person. He operates on all systems. He’s one of those people that if you met him when he was ten, you’d have no idea what he’d be like when he’s sixteen. He’s just constantly changing and I think he feels the power of being able to change. He can change the way he presents himself. He can change how other people perceive him. I think those are probably the big sources of his problems. I look at the first season and I saw that character that was always wearing a red power tie and speaking to people in a way that would make them compelled to do something that he wanted them to do. I just saw someone who didn’t know them self. Someone who’s trying to wear a mask. He’s pretending. He’s trying to be one of the big boys, but now I think he actually is, and I think he knows it.