Jeremy Strong says blistering profile about him was ‘painful to be misunderstood’
He's very relaxed, actually.
In the same way that Succession blurred the line between drama and comedy, the persona of Jeremy Strong blurs the line between earnestness and ridiculous self-aggrandisement.
The actor, 46, first found mainstream fame as the hapless Kendall Roy on the hit HBO series Succession, brilliantly playing the character with a mixture of oafishness and tragedy.
But as Strong’s star power rose, people soon began to question if he was in on the joke, both at the heart of Succession, and his own portrayal of Roy.
A now infamous New Yorker profile of Strong painted him as the butt of a joke, something he’s now responded to in a recent interview with GQ.
‘Yeah, it was really painful. It’s painful to feel misunderstood and misrepresented, and I’m sure there were things about it where looking in the mirror can also be painful,’ he said.
The profile included standout excerpts like: ‘”To me, the stakes are life and death,” he told me, about playing Kendall. “I take him as seriously as I take my own life.” He does not find the character funny, which is probably why he’s so funny in the role.’
Strong has once again asserted that he really is in on the joke, he promises! (Picture: Arnaud Pyvka) Strong clarified in the interview that he doesn’t take himself ‘all that seriously’ (Picture: Arnaud Pyvka)Seemingly campaigning to combat his image of cringey self-seriousness, Strong recently appeared in a Super Bowl ad in which he played a caricature of himself.
He told GQ: ‘And this Dunkin’ commercial, I did this because it was my answer and response to all of that stuff. A repudiation of it. A way, in its own form of risk, of actually poking fun at myself, poking fun at this absurd notion. I’ve never called myself a Method actor. Never once.
‘The Bean Method is as absurd or as legitimate as these ideas that are going around. So I had fun with that and I thought it was just a way of saying, Listen, I take what I do extremely seriously, but I don’t take myself all that seriously.’
The actor also discussed his Super Bowl commercial (Picture: Arnaud Pyvka) We’ll take that as a half smile, Jeremy (Picture: FilmMagic)When asked later in the interview if the commercial was to prove he has a sense of humour about it all, he quickly clarified that he didn’t mean it to be defensive, but simply thought it would be funny.
He then adds: ‘I came up with all of it.’
So if you’re wondering whether Jeremy Strong is finally in on the joke, he is. Just ask him, he’ll be happy to tell you all about it.
Read the full feature online at GQ Hype now.
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