Irving is a high-level Dark Army operative. He is played by Bobby Cannavale. He serves as secondary antagonist of Mr. Robot's third season.
History
Irving owns a car dealership in addition to being a fixer for the Dark Army based in New York. He appears to be a fan of the NY Mets, watching Big Brother, and is working on a novel. He claims to have had a wife and sons, but this was a lie.
2015
Season 3
Outside the arcade on 5/9, Irving arrives where two Dark Army soldiers are waiting, one of whom he sold a car. He looks at the Wellick SUV as they inform him Tyrell and Elliot arrived shortly after 9pm. Irving reminds them of the drill: he monologues and they hold off on the guns. The DA men put on their masks. Inside, Mr. Robot is explaining the paper records recovery program when Irving arrives, identifying Tyrell. Mr. Robot asks who they are. Tyrell glances at the gun on the table, prompting the DA to pull out theirs. Irving asks Tyrell is anyone saw him here or knows about it. He asks for his keys and phone. Irving gives Mr. Robot an address and tells him to drop off the SUV and go home. As Mr. Robot objects, Irving says if they’re seeing him, they must’ve fucked up. Tyrell’s honeypot contact James contacted Gideon Goddard to spill the beans. Irving says Tyrell will be the FBI’s most wanted and offers to keep him out of jail. Mr. Robot urges him to go with them.
They drive to a cabin in the middle of a heavily wooded area. Tyrell asks how long he must stay, but Irving isn’t sure. Irving says there can be ways arranged to contact his wife, but Tyrell rejects it, wanting to keep them both safe. Irving is leaving, promising to check on him in a couple days, to which Tyrell protests in need of working with Elliot. That’s be worked on. Tyrell asks for the gun back. Irving assures him the 37 acres of surrounding land is guarded by sensors and cameras.
On June 16th, Tyrell receives a call from prison. Elliot is on the other line, to Tyrell’s relief. Irving is in the other room listening to an audio book as Tyrell freaks out. Irving enters and notes his frustration. Tyrell says Elliot was acting strange. Irving brings Tyrell outside and shows him how to chop wood. Tyrell wants to get back to work, but Irving warns him he may lose his mind up here alone. Tyrell is proficient at using the ax, having done it as a child, although he hated it. Over the next days, Tyrell devises Stage 2 while also watching his son on a baby camera. He continues to chop wood.
On July 3, Cisco gets in a car with Xun and Irving after being given the femtocell by Darlene. He warns Cisco that Darlene has always been a job and that she is protected and he isn't. Stop caring about her, trust me. Cisco hands over the backpack and get out. At the cabin, Tyrell is coding the femtocell. Irving urges him that it has to go back to the city. Tyrell notices that there is code not for Stage 2, but to hack the FBI’s phones. Tyrell says he should be working with Elliot and gives the backpack to Irving.
After retrieving Tyrell from the back of a cop car when he went into town, Santiago rants at Irving after having to solve a “math problem” to find the cabin. They were lucky he combed the area and made sure all calls went to him, but he wasn’t planning on killing a cop. There’s already heat on him at work, having dodged the China shootout and Operation Berenstain blowing up in the FBI’s face. Santiago calls Irving’s boss a maniac and that no one cares about him. As he leaves, he tells Tyrell not to let this happen again. He leaves. Irving comes in and hands Tyrell an icepack for his thumb. He dismisses Santiago as a snake and sits down. He wonders what the incident was about and notes that he and Tyrell are alike: married to their jobs. Irving recounts that his boys were everything, but his wife left him and took them. He had been lost and after chopping a whole lot of wood, he realized he needed them. He wants to be a good provider so that he can go home, be greeted by his kids at the door, and watch Big Brother. He tells Tyrell he can be greeted by his family after a long day. Tyrell wants to appear as someone strong and capable to Joanna, and by working with Elliot and completing the mission can he achieve that. Irving asks for a few more weeks before he sees him.
Irving arrives at his car dealership and talks to a salesman about losing a sale. He shows him his coffee thermos, #1 dad, as something to relate to the customer. The salesman notes that Irving doesn’t have kids. Irving gives him the mug just as a prop. As home, Irving has many mugs with different slogans. He watches Big Brother alone and works on his novel, Beach Towel, chuckling at his own work. At prison, Irving meets with Leon, who takes joy in killing neo-nazis. He says Elliot got his papers and is bound to be released. Leon advises Elliot get laid to unwind him. At the cabin, Irving tells Tyrell to get packed as Elliot is being released. Tyrell smiles and gets his stuff, taking one last look at his room.
They arrive at the warehouse outside the E Corp tower. Tyrell says it’s perfect and Elliot will love it. Irving gives Tyrell the gun back, noting that it was jammed with a squib and the next shot would’ve blown a hand off, but he took care of it. That night, Irving brings Tyrell to the Fukan Hotel, a Dark Army controlled building. Irving says they reached out to Elliot and are waiting for him to respond. Tyrell will wait in the hotel room, away from the windows, until it’s time to meet at the rendezvous and give the taxi the address. (“eps3.2_legacy.so”)
On August 8th, Irving is at a Red Wheelbarrow BBQ and has his punch card completed at the register. He debates with the cashier after she refuses to give him a free milkshake until his next visit, arguing the semantics of the issue. Irving receives a call on his bluetooth, calming the screaming man on the other end and promising to be there in 15 minutes. Irving leaves the restaurant, telling the cashier that without principles, there is only chaos.
Irving soon arrives at a warehouse near Chambers and Church, where Tyrell Wellick is attending to Elliot Alderson's gunshot wound. Irving takes pictures, later sent to Minister Zhang, and assures the frantic Tyrell that the doctors are coming and pushing down on the wound doesn't help. Afterwards, Irving puts his dealership card under the wiper of another car before getting into his own. On a phone call, he is given the name of Angela Moss.
Six days later, August 14th, Irving picks up Elliot and Darlene in a taxi cab after they are apprehended by Dark Army soldiers at a hacker gathering during a city wide blackout. Irving notices am FBI tail following them and, impersonating a Detective Robert Abernathy, uses On Star to disable the pursuing vehicle with the assistance of the Aldersons. He takes them to a Red Wheelbarrow BBQ and asks Darlene to buy them food and punch his ticket card. She refuses, but acquiesces to Elliot to leave them alone. Irving notes that Elliot should be resting, only to be met with Elliot boasting that he shut down the backdoor to be used in Stage 2. Irving says their boss will be disappointed, but she believes a plan lives and dies with its creator. Irving wants to go home and work on his book. Elliot wants confirmation that Stage 2 is off, to which Irving says they can put the bullet back in Elliot.
In the middle of the that night, Angela brings Mr. Robot to a cellar where Irving is waiting. He wonders how she changed Elliot's mind and notes that he didn't seem to recognize him earlier. Angela says recovering from his wound messed with Elliot's head and that she was brought in to manage him. Irving reminds her of Whiterose's punctuality and asks if Mr. Robot is ready. He brings the two of them into another room where Tyrell is sitting on a bed. Tyrell tries to explain himself to Mr. Robot, but is forgiven regardless. Mr. Robot goes to work on a computer to re-establish access into E Corp's network. (“eps3.0_power-saver-mode.h”)
After the Dark Army simultaneously destroys 71 E Corp facilities across the country, Mr. Robot arrives at Irving's auto shop, demanding an explanation. Instead, Irving orders his men to knock him out. By the time Mr. Robot comes to, Irving is escorting him uptown in his car. Once they stop, Mr. Robot once more demands to know why the Dark Army twisted his revolution. Irving simply points to a party at a nearby penthouse, explaining that the wealthy "1%" are the real founders of fsociety. He then heads across the street, explaining he has to cover up the death of a mistress.
A few days later, Elliot approaches Irving in the middle of a car deal and asks him to set up a meeting with Whiterose.
Eventually, as Elliot investigates Santiago's apartment to find Darlene, Irving arrives, advising Elliot to come with him. Irving escorts Elliot to a barn outside the city, where Santiago, his informant in the FBI, has already captured Darlene and Agent Dominique DiPierro. Santiago explains that DiPierro had discovered his role as a mole and threatened to turn him in. Unhappy with this, Irving escorts Santiago and DiPierro outside. Santiago pleads with Irving to spare his agent. Instead, Irving brutally axes him to death and threatens DiPierro into taking his place.
Personality
On the surface, Irving is an enigma. However, his actions show that his loyalties lie first and foremost with the Dark Army, from helping save Elliot's life to harboring the fugitive Tyrell Wellick. He seems to have a fondness for barbecue ribs, particularly from the Red Wheelbarrow restaurant, and frequents the establishment often.
Despite his loyalty, he has no problems with lying to Tyrell about having past children and manipulating him into revealing information to the Dark Army, so it is unknown how much of his loyalty is true loyalty.