After his critically acclaimed and award-winning portrayal of Kendall Roy in HBO’s hit drama “Succession,” Jeremy Strong is taking on new challenges on stage and screen. In a candid interview with The New York Times Magazine, the actor reflected on his time with the show and his determination to achieve “exit velocity” from the career-defining role.
Strong is currently starring on Broadway in the play “Enemy of the People” alongside Michael Imperioli and Victoria Pedretti. He will also take on the role of the notorious Roy Cohn in the upcoming biographical drama “The Apprentice,” which features Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump and Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump.
While some actors have struggled to move beyond iconic television roles, Strong expressed confidence in his ability to distance himself from Kendall Roy. “I went right into Roy Cohn, partly just to sort of shake [‘Succession’] off,” he said. Strong described Cohn as “the most fascinating person I’ve ever tried to inhabit,” acknowledging the lawyer’s controversial legacy and influence on Donald Trump.
Addressing the public perception of him as an intensely serious Method actor, Strong emphasized his appreciation for humor. “I thought ‘Succession’ was wickedly funny,” he said, adding that he enjoyed comedic roles in the past and is open to more lighthearted projects.
Though admitting that having fun is “probably something I’m not great at doing,” Strong revealed his fondness for action movies, citing his solo trip to watch “The Equalizer 3” in Denmark as a form of decompression.
As he embarks on new roles, Strong remains committed to his craft, aiming to provide humanistic interpretations of complex characters while withholding personal judgment.