An Interview With Jeremy Strong’s Huge Pinkie Ring

Ring ring! What’s that sound? It’s all of Hollywood buzzing over a captivating new talent who’s slowly been building a name for herself over the past few years. You’ve seen her at awards shows, on TV, and, most recently, stunting at this year’s Met Gala. For anyone who’s ever seen Succession star Jeremy Strong on a red carpet and thought, Who’s that pretty little thing hanging off of Jer’s arm … literally? It’s Strong’s weirdly omnipresent Pinkie Ring! For a guy whose wardrobe is nothing but statement pieces, Strong’s signet ring stands out as a whole damn declaration piece. We tracked down the shiny young starlet between handshakes to talk fashion, unrealistic industry expectations, and her relationship with Strong.

Hi, Jeremy Strong’s Pinkie Ring!
Hey, girl!

We’re so glad we could track you down. 
Just look for the nearest actor’s roundtable; Jer-bear always drags me along to that stuff.

You two have become pretty inseparable, huh?
He’s got me wrapped around his little finger.

When did you two start working together?
I was first booked for a guest role on the season-two episode “Dundee,� when Kendall performs the “L to the OG� rap.

It’s a classic!
It was really a breakout scene, and it was so fun to do a musical number. I have a background in pop, actually.

Oh, really? 
I was actually one of the rings in Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings.�

So Succession wasn’t your first time on camera?
I made it to the final round of auditions for that awful Green Lantern movie. The chemistry tests with Ryan Reynolds were a total flop.

And I’m sorry to ask, but word on the street is you’re a nepo baby. Is that true?
Yes, and I’m not ashamed of it, and I don’t want to hide it. I come from a pretty notorious Mafia background — that’s really one of the main industries for pinkie rings — but I broke out of that family business. My grandpa was the pinkie ring that The Irishman was based on.

You mean the ring that the pinkie ring in The Irishman was based on?
The ring that the movie was based on.

Why did you turn to acting?
Mob life is a risky existence. My baby cousin got ratted out, got locked up.

Oh, no!
Had to do hard time behind a jewelry case at Kay’s.

Your background couldn’t be more different from Jeremy Strong’s, who we now know really built his career from the ground up.
Can I talk about that profile real quick?

The floor is yours. 
That New Yorker article was a hit piece.

Hoo boy …
Jeremy’s not like that. He’s not difficult. He’s an artist; he’s committed. Are we canceling people for being good at their jobs now?

Clearly, I shouldn’t have brought the article up.
It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s just … that’s not the Jer I know. Jeremy likes to live in his characters. Every day, when he gets to set, he takes off his fedora, puts on his Beats, and says out loud, “It’s Ken-Ken time.�

Speaking of living in his characters, I know Strong has incorporated items from Kendall’s wardrobe into his own. There’s some mystery surrounding you, too. In a Succession cast interview from 2019, Kieran Culkin points to you and asks, “I thought that was Kendall’s ring. Is that yours?� And Strong says, “This is mine,� but he’s sort of shifty as he says it. So which is it? Are you a prop? 
As stars who live in the public eye, Jer and I want to keep that mystery alive.

You never made any public appearances with Strong until 2019, after your season-two episode had filmed. So either Strong brought you to set to wear in character or he took you home from that shoot.
No comment.

Okay.
Do you want to hear a funny behind-the-scenes story from Succession?

Sure.
So you know how Brian Cox’s character, Logan, calls Roman “Romulus� as, like, a nickname?

Yeah.
And he calls Siobhan “Pinkie�? That was inspired by me.

Wow!
Yeah, so the only nickname for her in the script was “Shiv� until that point, but Brian said he needed something softer. And then he caught Jeremy running his pinkie finger through the ranch on the craftie table next to the carrots and celery. Just dipped it straight in there like he was checking its temperature … with me on it. “There it is,� he said. “There’s her name.�

That’s why Logan calls Shiv “Pinkie�?
They shortened it from “Pinkie Ring�!

Strong’s style is pretty notable. The guy likes to accessorize: a ruffled sleeve, an ascot, a scarf, a hat, that big chain pendant necklace of his …
You know we’re in an open relationship.

What?
Me, him, and the necklace. We go everywhere together. He’s also worn it on the show a couple of times.

In the same vein as unconventional relationships, I want to ask you about another famous ring — maybe you know them. 
Us rings don’t all know each other, you know. And Middle Earth isn’t a real place, either.

I just want to know your thoughts on Machine Gun Kelly’s engagement ring for Megan Fox, the one covered in a “band of thorns� so it hurts to take off. 
Oh, this stunt queen! That ring is absolutely feral.

You know her?
You know that college friend who was fully in a sorority and then dyed her hair and joined a noise band — just did a full personality 180 — but you don’t buy it because you still picture her vomiting into a Rae Dunn mixing bowl?

Sure.
That’s how I feel about an engagement ring trying too hard to be edgy. Honey, you’re still upholding the system.

You and Strong were just on the cover of Variety with Anne Hathaway and her own obscenely large ring. Are you two more than friends?
Pass.

What’s the biggest hurdle working in Hollywood today? 
It blows that they did away with the mani cam. That catwalk could have been my star moment.

Even without the mani cam, you’ve been able to make a name for yourself, drawing the eye toward you in any photo shoot of Strong. It would be quirky enough of an affectation for Strong to wear a pinkie ring as kind of a symbol of the how the Roy family and other billionaire clans are just crime syndicates of a different name —
That’s one interpretation.

— but it’s also that you’re just huge. Strong isn’t a big guy. He’s no quarterback wearing a Super Bowl ring. And here he is with this huge piece of hardware on his littlest finger.
It’s almost like who’s wearing who, am I right?

What’s your response to the haters who think you two look ridiculous together?
I lean into it. I love Jer, but he can be cringe. And you can’t spell cringe without ring.