Strong refuses to rehearse because he wants “every scene to feel like I’m encountering a bear in the woods,” he stopped going into the makeup trailer when anyone else was there (“Which I remember making everyone else roll their eyes,” the unnamed cast member said), and, according to Kieran Culkin, he views every scene as a battle. Unfortunately for his co-stars, of which only two speak on the record with one declining to be named, he seems like a nightmare to work with.
To which Strong replies, “In the sense that, like, Chekhov is comedy?” To his credit, when you do The Seagull correctly you’re gonna get some laughs, but Succession at its funniest is closer to a Noël Coward farce than, say, Three Sisters. In one anecdote, the writer, Michael Schulman, tells Strong that he thinks Succession is a comedy.
In a New Yorker profile in this week’s issue, Strong (with the help of many famous people who know him) revealed himself to be one of the most pompous and self-serious actors working today, to the delight of insufferable New Yorker readers looking to feel comparatively normal. Which brings us to Succession’s Jeremy Strong. Others still will take issue with that metaphor, because they believe Tinkerbell to be one of the great tragic characters in Scottish theater and not some kind of cheap punchline. Sure, they will tell you it’s about “exposing the truth of the human condition,” but most of them are attention-hungry theater kids, little Tinkerbells who need applause or they will die. Jeremy is not only a lovely guy but a brilliant actor who was cast in Succession precisely because of his passion the New Yorker writer mocks.Actors are weird people who have chosen to make their money by playing make believe for the pleasure of others. Snark sells but maybe its time we move beyond it.- Jessica Chastain December 8, 2021Īaron Sorkin doesn’t have social media so asked me to post this letter on his behalf xx /3Ol1KGoJKM- Jessica Chastain December 10, 2021 The profile that came out on him was incredibly one sided.
Very inspiring & passionate about his work. Ive known Jeremy Strong for 20yrs & worked with him on 2 films. While the Hollywood elite continue typing their iPhone-note justifications for Strong’s unique acting techniques, mentally Jeremy Strong is probably still at Kendall’s birthday party, paying no mind to what those outside the family think of him. She described him as “an incredibly talented and inventive artist who is fully engaged and committed on set, as well as a passionate, open person in life.” She made sure to clarify that he is also a “fun” person. The princess of Genovia Anne Hathaway also sang Strong’s praises with a black-and-white photo of him on Instagram that looked a little too much like an “in memorandum” post. Sorkin called Strong “a great actor and company member” and “not a nut.” Succession executive producer Adam McKay responded to Sorkin’s statement, calling Strong a “lovely guy but a brilliant actor who was cast in Succession precisely because of his passion the New Yorker writer mocks.” That’s great and all, but it leads us to a larger question: Do Chastain, Sorkin, and McKay have a group chat to organize their defense of Strong, à la stan culture?
Actress Jessica Chastain published a statement in defense of the Succession thespian to Twitter, calling him “a lovely person” who’s “passionate about his work.” She also posted Twitter-less director Aaron Sorkin’s statement on Strong, who shared his full interview with New Yorker writer Michael Schulman. A group of Hollywood stars came to defend Strong’s unusual approach to acting Strong described taking the role of Kendall Roy “as seriously” as he takes his own life. Clarkson once said, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” but some people might not want to be more like Succession’s Jeremy Strong after reading the divisive New Yorker profile published last week. Photo: Christopher Polk/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images