The great philosopher K. Clarkson once said, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,†but some people might not want to be more like Succession’s Jeremy Strong after reading the divisive New Yorker profile published last week. A group of Hollywood stars came to defend Strong’s unusual approach to acting; Strong described taking the role of Kendall Roy “as seriously†as he takes his own life. Actress Jessica Chastain published a statement in defense of the Succession thespian to Twitter, calling him “a lovely person†who’s “passionate about his work.†She also posted Twitter-less director Aaron Sorkin’s statement on Strong, who shared his full interview with New Yorker writer Michael Schulman. Sorkin called Strong “a great actor and company member†and “not a nut.†Succession executive producer Adam McKay responded to Sorkin’s statement, calling Strong a “lovely guy but a brilliant actor who was cast in Succession precisely because of his passion the New Yorker writer mocks.†That’s great and all, but it leads us to a larger question: Do Chastain, Sorkin, and McKay have a group chat to organize their defense of Strong, à la stan culture?
The princess of Genovia Anne Hathaway also sang Strong’s praises with a black-and-white photo of him on Instagram that looked a little too much like an “in memorandum†post. She described him as “an incredibly talented and inventive artist who is fully engaged and committed on set, as well as a passionate, open person in life.†She made sure to clarify that he is also a “fun†person. While the Hollywood elite continue typing their iPhone-note justifications for Strong’s unique acting techniques, mentally Jeremy Strong is probably still at Kendall’s birthday party, paying no mind to what those outside the family think of him.