Jeremy Strong is best known for playing the second-eldest, and the most neurotic of all the Roy children on HBO’s Succession. Although this is the role that he is best known for, Strong has been a working actor for more than twenty years, appearing in a variety of movies, television, and theater productions, using his method of acting to get to the heart and soul of all his characters.
Jeremy Strong has played a wide range of characters
Strong started his acting career at Yale, then moved on to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. Before breaking out on Broadway, Strong also spent time with the Steppenwolf Theater Company. He made his Broadway debut in a revival of A Man for All Seasons in 2008.
That same year, Strong also made his film debut playing Peter in Humboldt County. He took on various historical roles in movies including playing Lee Harvey Oswald in Parkland and Jerry Rubin in The Trial of the Chicago 7. Strong also has previous television experience with short recurring roles on The Good Wife, Mob City, and Masters of Sex. This experience led to his breakout role playing Kendall Roy in Succession.
The actor collects ‘artifacts’ from every character that he has played
Strong sat down with GQ and revealed that he keeps artifacts from the various roles he has played. He keeps many of these treasures sitting on his desk inside of a paper cup that came from when Strong was performing in the play A Matter of Choice. Some notable items include a cherry bomb from The Trial of the Chicago 7, a watch Strong wore in Humboldt County, and a poker chip from Molly’s Game.
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He revealed a couple of items from the Succession set that he has kept, including a letter that his character ripped up at a press conference in season two, a name tag pinned to his suit that he wore as he jumped into the pool in season one, and a garish necklace that Kendall wore at his birthday bash in season three. Of the necklace, Strong said, “I wanted something for Kendall’s birthday in season three that felt colossal.” Rashid Johnson was the artist that designed the piece.
Jeremy Strong’s approach to acting
When it comes to his acting style, Strong prefers method acting, a type of acting that focuses the actor on the experiences and understanding of the character so that the performance appears more sincere to the character. Although Strong likes this technique, some have criticized him for this choice.
Often Strong does not rehearse with co-star Brian Cox who plays patriarch Logan Roy, especially for their one-on-one scenes where the tension is high. Kieran Culkin has also said he finds Strong’s approach challenging to work with. “Jeremy … It’s a little more complex,” Culkin explained on the podcast WTF with Marc Maron. “Because a lot of people just immediately say, ‘he’s method,’ and he would say that he’s not. But … for all intents and purposes, I feel like he kind of is.”
Strong believes that over rehearsing or over-explaining a character’s motivation in a scene can lose some of the well-built tension that makes fans love watching Succession. With the show soon coming to an end, fans will get to enjoy Strong’s approach to Kendall Roy for a few more episodes before the series finale premieres on HBO at the end of May.
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