Bryan Cranston wants you to yell at him

Bryan Cranston has a job for you. The acclaimed actor is starring in a stage adaptation of the 1976 movie Network, which is moving to Broadway this month after a successful run on the West End. Cranston stars as Howard Beale, the cantankerous fictional news anchor whose famous “mad as hell” speech never seems to go out of fashion.

In a video posted to YouTube today, he asked viewers to film themselves screaming Beale’s timeless tirade into their smartphone cameras—or computer cameras, or whatever. Then he wants them to post the videos on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with the hashtag #MadAsHellBway.

“Do it as enthusiastically as possible,” Cranston implores, “even angry!”

What’s the point of this exercise? Well, you will be screaming for your chance to (sort of) appear alongside Cranston in the show. The play, Cranston says, needs “all kinds of videos from all walks of life,” presumably as accompaniment for the immersive, screen-laden set, which won praise from critics in the London version.

Sure, this all sounds a little gimmicky, but having seen Cranston’s amazing performance as LBJ in 2012’s All the Way, I can tell you that appearing on stage with him—even in a video—would be its own reward. Plus, are we not all truly mad as hell in 2018? How hard will it be to channel some of that anger for this once-in-a-lifetime chance?

Forgive me for the mixed ’70s-movie reference, but that’s an offer we can’t refuse.