Succession 's Jeremy Strong Slams That New Yorker Profile as "Betrayal"

Jeremy Strong is not holding back his true thoughts about that profile.

The Succession star finally addressed a 2021 New Yorker interview that went viral after his friends and Hollywood colleagues criticized how he was portrayed.

"What do I say about it?" Strong told Vanity Fair in an interview published Sept. 2. "It was something that, for me, felt like a pretty profound betrayal of trust."

The December article described Strong's allegedly intense acting method, with co-star Brian Cox saying, "I just worry about what he does to himself. I worry about the crises he puts himself through in order to prepare."

Now, Strong says, the profile "maybe ultimately said more about the person writing it and their perspective, which is a valid perspective, than it did about who I feel I am and what I'm about."

As for the widespread reaction to the article? "The noise and the fog after it: I think it's something that, I guess, what I care about ultimately is trying to feel as free as possible as an actor," noted the actor behind Kendall Roy. "Part of that is trying to insulate yourself from all of that, and what people might say about you or think about you. You have to free yourself from that."

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But still, he said, "It was painful. I felt foolish. As an actor, one of the most vital secret weapons that you can have is the ability to tolerate feeling foolish."

Strong said that he feels he's taking a "risk" anytime he's on a set by being vulnerable. "Acting is something that's hard to talk about without sounding self-serious," he continued, "but it is something that I feel very seriously about and care about and have devoted my life to."

Seemingly describing his acting philosophy, he went on, "At the end of the day, it's quite simple. You do all this stuff so that you can work as unconsciously as possible. When you're working on the frontier of your unconscious, I think good work is possible. There's really not much you can say about that because it's your unconscious."

And appearing to address all that media attention, he added, "All that stuff, I have to treat it as vapor and mist. It's not really relevant to the work."

After the article was published, his friends including Anne Hathaway, Aaron Sorkin and Jessica Chastain issued public statements defending the actor.

At the time, a spokesperson for The New Yorker told E! News in a statement that the profile is "a nuanced, multi-sided portrait of an extremely dedicated actor. It has inspired a range of reactions from people, including many who say that they are even more impressed by Jeremy Strong's artistry after having read the article."

E! News has reached out again in light of Strong's latest comments but hasn't heard back.

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