'Succession' Star Jeremy Strong Regrets Talking About Method Acting For Infamous New Yorker Profile

Ever since the success of “Succession,” Jeremy Strong’s acting career has taken off. He is now easily one of the world’s most famous and recognizable actors, but he’s also had his fair share of negative press.

One such incident was when Strong spoke about his method acting techniques during a profile interview with The New Yorker. His statements from that interview went viral, and many actors and actresses expressed their positive and negative opinions of method acting.

Strong recently spoke about the interview and said he regrets talking about method acting. He also said that he stands by his process and that the resulting discourse about him only served as an unnecessary distraction. 

Read on to find out more.

In 2021, Strong had a profile with The New Yorker, during which he spoke about the great lengths he goes to prepare for his characters. The actor also revealed that he once asked a film crew to tear gas him in preparation for his role in “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”

The profile quickly became controversial, with many film fans and actors discussing Strong’s extreme approach to method acting. The preparation method itself is controversial, with many calling it an unnecessary and extreme technique.

Many other actors have also come under scrutiny for their extreme approach to method acting. These actors include the late Heath Ledger, Hilary Swank, late Marlon Brando, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Robert De Niro.

Many actors and actresses reacted to Strong’s statements about his method acting techniques, with some defending him and others criticizing and sharing their disregard for method acting.

Actress Michelle Williams defended Strong’s statements and choice during an interview with Variety. She said, “I think that unfortunately the word ‘method’ had become a buzzy one because of what happened to Jeremy Strong when he tried to describe his process. He takes his work as seriously as he takes his play.”

However, actor Mads Mikkelsen is not impressed with method acting and with Strong. The actor recently spoke with GQ UK and said that he doesn’t use the method or understand the hype around it, even calling it “bullshit.”

He said, “You can take [the preparation] into insanity. What if it’s a shit film — what do you think you achieved? Am I impressed that you didn’t drop character? You should have dropped it from the beginning! How do you prepare for a serial killer? You gonna spend two years checking it out?”

During Strong’s interview with Vanity Fair at the Telluride Film Festival, the actor expressed regret about his statements during the New Yorker profile. He said, “The profile ultimately said more about the person writing it and their perspective, which is a valid perspective, than it did about who I feel I am and what I’m about.”

Strong also explained that the resulting buzz only served as a distraction for him. He said, “The noise and the fog after it: I think it’s something that, I guess, what I care about ultimately is trying to feel as free as possible as an actor. Part of that is trying to insulate yourself from all of that, and what people might say about you or think about you.”

The “The Gentlemen” actor concluded his statements with, “You have to free yourself from that. It was painful. I felt foolish. As an actor, one of the most vital secret weapons that you can have is the ability to tolerate feeling foolish.”

Strong also told Vanity Fair that he stands by his choice of method acting despite the negative perception of the method. He explained that method acting has helped him to perform his best in his films and that there’s no reason for him to change that because of his critics.

He said, “At the end of the day, it’s quite simple. You do all this stuff so that you can work as unconsciously as possible. When you’re working on the frontier of your unconscious, I think good work is possible. There’s really not much you can say about that because it’s your unconscious. All that stuff, I have to treat it as vapor and mist. It’s not really relevant to the work.”