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'Succession' star Jeremy Strong's method DEFINES hit show as celebs rush to defend actor

Strong's performance as Kendall is the backbone for 'Succession's success, and there's no two ways about it

Spoilers for 'Succession' Season 3

Jeremy Strong's Kendall Roy lay on the inflatable pool. Back against the sun, and a beer bottle loosely held in his hand. He pays no attention to his son and a few seconds later, the bottle slips out of his hand and into the water, his face drowns in the bright blue pool and bubbles of air break the water's surface. If Kendall was to have supposedly died in 'Succession' Season 3 Episode 8, then he did a damn good job of convincing the audience that he was done and had reached his end of the line.

And it was that method acting that has been pivotal to the show's success. The eccentric son of Logan Roy (Brian Cox) has been a man traumatized by the fear of success, failure, and the journey of his everyday life. Now, this might read as an ambiguous statement, but those who are heavily invested in 'Succession' know what that means. Strong's that sort of an actor who makes you believe that he's actually dying, that he's actually grieving, and that he's the one who's a functioning semi-lunatic, and all because his Kendall is just that.

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'Succession' Season 3 delves into the intense battle between the father and the son and the remainder of the Roys moving around like chess pieces. And, the 42-year-old, known for going the extra mile to make his performances authentic, went on to shave his head in the penultimate episode as a sign that he was at his wit's end and the mental stress had gotten to him. The not-so-funny humor was a defense mechanism for Kendall, he would laugh at it, the others wouldn't.

He tried to throw an extravagant, celeb-style bash to celebrate his 40th birthday, tried to cheer himself up by having Elliot Carver's style of newspaper headlines to take sly digs at his siblings, he searched for the presents his kids made while throwing off other gift boxes irrespective of whether he would damage them, and in the end, he was pushed around by his younger brother Roman (Kieran Culkin). That was perhaps his final birthday and a rather botched one at that.

And in all of this, Strong was more than just convincing. Talking to The New Yorker, his profile earned him rave reviews, and celebs rushed to defend his ways to bring out the best in the character he plays, which he best describes as “identity diffusion.”

“If I have any method at all, it is simply this: to clear away anything—anything—that is not the character and the circumstances of the scene,” Strong said. “And usually that means clearing away almost everything around and inside you so that you can be a more complete vessel for the work at hand.” The piece was as detailed as it could be but was blasted by celebs as they felt the article criticized his acting process. One of them was Aaron Sorkin, who slammed the piece as the writer seemed to mock Strong for his "insane approach".

"After reading Michael Schulman’s profile of Jeremy Strong — a profile in which I participated — I wanted to speak up,” wrote Sorkin. “I think I helped Mr. Schulman create what I believe is a distorted picture of Jeremy that asks us to roll our eyes at his acting process," Sorkin wrote, and the message was tweeted by Jessica Chastain later on, who also said, "I've known Jeremy Strong for 20yrs & worked with him on 2 films. He's a lovely person. Very inspiring & passionate about his work. The profile that came out on him was incredibly one-sided. Don’t believe everything you read folks. Snark sells but maybe it's time we move beyond it."

Rushing to Strong's aid was also Anne Hathway who took to Instagram to share her views. "As the week ends, I would like to send some love to Jeremy Strong who I'm lucky enough to have worked with twice and who I am proud to consider a friend,' she wrote, alongside a picture of Strong clutching an Emmy Award. I deeply value his qualities of thoughtfulness, sincerity, authenticity, sweetness, depth, kindness, generosity, as well as his powerful intelligence and extraordinary sensitivity," she opined.

Strong's performance as Kendall is the backbone for 'Succession's success. His co-stars have been brilliant further making sure that the HBO drama is an absolute humdinger. His co-star Brian Cox, who plays his father on the show shed light on his performance on The Late Night with Seth Meyers. "The thing about Jeremy’s approach is it works in terms of what comes out the other end,” Cox remarked.

"My problem — and, it’s not a problem, I don’t have a problem with Jeremy because he’s delightful. … He’s an extraordinary dad. He’s a pretty unique individual. 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. Eventually, you get worn out." But Strong surprisingly hasn't and with the fourth season in development, his absence, which the world has been speculating, will be a massive blow.

There's no two ways to put this, and trolls and criticism aside, Strong's Oscar material, and that's to that.