Frank Langella responds to Netflix firing and allegations of misconduct: 'This is not fair'
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Frank Langella has broken his silence about being fired from the Netflix limited series The Fall of the House of Usher last month, calling his dismissal "not fair," "not just," and "not American."
In a guest column published Thursday by Deadline Hollywood, the 84-year-old actor, who was let go after an internal investigation determined that he was involved in "unacceptable conduct" on set, wrote that he had been "canceled. Just like that."
Describing the incident that led to his firing, Langella wrote: "On March 25 of this year, I was performing a love scene with the actress playing my young wife. Both of us were fully clothed. I was sitting on a couch, she was standing in front of me. The director called cut. 'He touched my leg,' said the actress. 'That was not in the blocking.' She then turned and walked off the set, followed by the director and the intimacy coordinator. I attempted to follow, but was asked to 'give her some space.' I waited for approximately one hour, and was then told she was not returning to set and we were wrapped."
Matthew Eisman/Getty Frank Langella
The incident, Langella said, sparked a weeklong investigation, after which he was contacted by human resources and told that he had gone against the intimacy coordinator's suggestions as to where he should put his hands. Langella said he acknowledged that he called the suggestions "absurd," and asserted that "legislating the placement of hands" is "ludicrous" and "undermines instinct and spontaneity" on set.
Representatives for Langella and Netflix didn't immediately respond to EW's request for comment.
In his column, Langella wrote that other allegations against him included telling an off-color joke, calling someone "baby" or "honey" on set, and occasionally hugging people or touching them on the shoulder.
He also alleged that after he was fired, "directors and the producer stopped answering my emails and phone calls," and he and his representatives weren't given the "opportunity to comment or collaborate on the narrative."
According to Langella, the impact of his firing has been "incalculable," and includes the loss of a "thrilling part" that he had come to regard as his "last hurrah" and "the chance at future earnings." On top of that, he said, "my reputation has been tarnished. These indignities are, to my mind, the real definition of unacceptable behavior."
Read Langella's full column at Deadline.
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