Adrien Brody Explains Why Jeremy Strong Kept His Distance From Brian Cox on the Succession Set

Adrien Brody is peeling back the curtain on the set of Succession.

The Blonde actor, who played billionaire Waystar Royco investor Josh Aaronson in season three, episode four of the HBO drama, is revealing how stars Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox interact with one another off-camera. During the episode, Aaronson calls Strong's Kendall Roy and Cox's Logan Roy for a summit in order to end their chilly proxy battle, and according to Brody, Strong remained in character even after the director called "cut."

"I did notice that he was keeping his distance from Brian on set, but I just thought it was all really interesting," Brody told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published Sept. 29. "I think Brian could probably care less, but it was obviously working for Jeremy. I just remember thinking, 'Wow, this is so fun to step into this,' and it all went without a hitch."

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Brody went on to say that Strong was "wonderful scene partner and very thoughtful," and that the two got together to talk about his part prior to filming. Plus, Brody revealed that he'd be down to reprise his role as the cunning investor, saying he "just wanted there to be more."

Strong is famously a proponent of method acting, telling The New Yorker in a 2021 profile that he clears "away anything—anything—that is not the character and the circumstances of the scene." The article, which went viral online, depicted his intense tactics, which included requesting to get sprayed with real tear gas for The Trial of the Chicago 7. Strong ultimately called the story "a pretty profound betrayal of trust" on Sept. 2.

Cox, on the other hand, slammed method acting as "American s--t" on Sept. 14, deeming the technique "crap." In the same New Yorker profile, Cox is quoted as saying that he worries "about what [Strong] does to himself. I worry about the crises he puts himself through in order to prepare."

As for Brody, the actor said in his THR interview that he is "supportive of any approach as long as it's not really disruptive to anyone," and that he tries to be "malleable" to other artists' techniques. But ultimately, he falls more on Cox's end of the method acting spectrum than Strong's.

"Like Brian, it's more of a technical thing at times, because you've done it for so long," he said. "So you have an innate understanding, and it's really about listening and doing the work ahead of time—being connected to that character, listening, being present and responding accordingly. It's all still fascinating to me."

Watch Brody, Strong and Cox's techniques on Succession, which is available to stream on HBO.

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