Method acting has a habit of turning movie sets into behavioral experiments like Jared Leto’s Suicide Squad immersion famously involved a dead pig arriving on set and a live rat being sent to Margot Robbie, while Jim Carrey remained deeply submerged in Andy Kaufman and Tony Clifton during Man on the Moon.

The technique can produce startling performances, though the person sharing the scene may experience something entirely different. Jeremy Strong knows that debate intimately. His total immersion as Kendall Roy in Succession became almost as famous as Kendall himself.

Years later, Strong has made his position clear: discomfort does not automatically deserve an apology.

Jeremy Strong refuses to apologize for taking the work seriously

During an appearance on The New Yorker Radio Hour, host David Remnick asked Jeremy Strong whether the people around him appreciate his highly immersive process. Strong acknowledged that responses have varied, while stressing that disrupting another actor’s work has never been his intention. His priority remains complete commitment to the material.

“And so if some people feel that I’m taking it too seriously, or it changes the molecules in the room in a way that makes something uncomfortable, I guess that’s something that I don’t feel that I need to apologize for,” Strong said.

He also rejected the suggestion that colleagues using different techniques frustrate him. Strong explained that he focuses on serving whatever story he has been hired to tell and believes the directors he works with understand that intensity. He added that many reactions to his process feel personal to him.

Brian Cox has been the loudest critic from the Succession family. Cox once called Strong’s Method approach “f—ing annoying,” while still describing him as a gifted actor. His concern centered on Strong remaining psychologically attached to Kendall after cameras stopped rolling. Strong has responded without hostility, saying Cox has earned the right to express his opinion and emphasizing the respect he retains for his former castmates.

That devotion has now followed Strong from Waystar RoyCo. into Silicon Valley, where another famously isolated power player is waiting.

Aaron Sorkin sees a different Mark Zuckerberg in Jeremy Strong

Aaron Sorkin has now watched two actors inhabit Mark Zuckerberg across sixteen years. Jesse Eisenberg earned an Oscar nomination for playing the Facebook founder in The Social Network, but he declined Sorkin’s invitation to return for The Social Reckoning. Jeremy Strong subsequently stepped into the role.

At the film’s New York premiere, Sorkin told E! News that Strong demonstrated how subtle acting choices could completely reshape a familiar figure.

“It’s a lesson how just difference nuances from an actor can change everything,” Sorkin said. He explained that audiences would still recognize Zuckerberg, while the passage of time and Facebook’s transformation place him in a different emotional position.

Strong’s preparation was characteristically intense. Sorkin previously revealed that the actor did not speak in his normal voice or move like himself on set. He even warned the cast that Strong would probably avoid casual conversations between takes and interact with them according to how he imagined Zuckerberg would behave. 

The Social Reckoning follows Frances Haugen, played by Mikey Madison, and Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz, played by Jeremy Allen White, as they work to expose Facebook’s internal practices. The film arrives in theaters October 9.

What do you think about Jeremy Strong refusing to apologize for his immersive acting process? Let us know in the comments.