If you haven’t read the New Yorker‘s profile of Succession star Jeremy Strong yet, you should do that now. It’s a fascinating look (no matter what Jessica Chastain thinks) at a famously intense actor who says things like, “I want every scene to feel like I’m encountering a bear in the woods,” and, “To me, the stakes are life and death.” (He’s referring to his performance on a show where someone ate their own load once.)
Strong’s co-star, Brian Cox, dropped by Late Night with Seth Meyers on Wednesday to discuss the profile of his on-screen son. “The thing about Jeremy’s approach is it works in terms of what comes out the other end. My problem — and it’s not a problem, I don’t have a problem with Jeremy because he’s delightful… He’s a pretty unique individual,” he said. “But, he does get obsessed with the work. And I worry about what it does to him, because if you can’t separate yourself — because you’re dealing with all of this material every day. You can’t live in it. You know, eventually, you get worn out.”
Cox compared Strong’s method acting to Daniel Day Lewis, who “got worn out at 55 and decided to retire because [he] couldn’t go on doing that every day,” he said. “It’s too consuming. And I do worry about it. But the result — what everyone says about Jeremy — the result is always extraordinary and excellent.”
Cox isn’t one to shower his fellow actors with compliments (“Personable though I’m sure he is, is so overblown, so overrated,” he said about Johnny Depp), so he clearly has affection for Strong — and his f*cking go nut-nut process.
You can watch the interview above.