As the never-ending debate over the pros and cons of method acting rages on, it seems like noted method actor Jeremy Strong is still integrating Kendall Roy into life, which has sparked some debate among his co-stars in the past.
Strong’s Succession co-star Brian Cox has expressed concern about Strong’s methods over the years, praising his performances but remaining worried about how it affects the actor. “I just worry about what he does to himself. I worry about the crises he puts himself through in order to prepare,” the actor told Seth Meyers in 2021. But Strong does not seem too concerned with Cox’s comments, or anyone’s for that matter!
In a new profile with GQ, Strong says that he thinks that the whole ordeal was blown out of proportion. “Everyone’s entitled to have their feelings,” Strong began, adding that Cox can have whatever feeling he wants, which probably happens after you win enough Emmy awards.
The actor continued, “I also think Brian Cox, for example, he’s earned the right to say whatever the f**k he wants. There was no need to address that or do damage control… I feel a lot of love for my siblings and my father on the show. And it is like a family in the sense that — and I’m sure they would say this, too — you don’t always like the people that you love. I do always respect them.” It’s obvious he respects his TV show family, plus it’s not like he was mailing dead rats to his coworkers like some method actors.
Despite the backlash to his methods, Strong insists he will continue to keep up his method approach. “Am I going to adjust or compromise the way that I’ve worked my whole life and what I believe in? There wasn’t a flicker of doubt about that,” Strong explained. “I’m still going to do whatever it takes to serve whatever it is.” Even though he doesn’t like it, Cox will have to live with it, at least for another season or two. Maybe he himself should try method acting? It would make him even more approachable.