Aaron Sorkin Puts New Yorker Writer Down After One-Sided Jeremy Strong Profile, Don’t You Tread on Our Kendall!

Jeremy Strong has described taking his Emmy-winning role of Succession’s Kendall Roy “as seriously” as he takes his own life—a statement which a piece published last week in The New Yorker, titled “On ‘Succession,’ Jeremy Strong Doesn’t Get the Joke,” uses as its north star. Upon reading the piece, you might find yourself wondering how much time Strong himself spends in the bathtub or the ever-evolving epidemic that is method acting. 

That’s right. Method acting: that which we associate with both illustrious thespians like Daniel Day-Lewis and the more troubled ones like Shia Labeouf. Depending upon the day, the term has both positive and negative connotations. Still, what’s wrong with taking your job seriously? 

It’s weird. But weird is in and negligence is out. 

Thankfully, a group of Hollywood heroes has come to Strong’s defend amid The New Yorker’s one-sided profile. Strong’s champions: Adam McKay, Jessica Chastain, and Aaron Sorkin. 

Sorkin worked with Strong on Molly’s Game (2017), which also starred Chastain, and in last year’s Trial of the Chicago 7. Last Friday, Chastain posted an open letter written by Sorkin to her Twitter account, with the explanation that Sorkin has wisely avoided the platform. It begins, “After reading Michael Schulman’s profile of Jeremy Strong — a profile in which I participated — I wanted to speak up,” wrote Sorkin. “I think I helped Mr. Schulman create what I believe is a distorted picture of Jeremy that asks us to roll our eyes at his acting process.” Check it out below. 

Aaron Sorkin doesn’t have social media so asked me to post this letter on his behalf xx pic.twitter.com/3Ol1KGoJKM

— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) December 10, 2021

Succession’s executive producer, McKay, then backed Sorkin’s comments.

https://twitter.com/GhostPanther/status/1469709734227820544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1469709734227820544%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2021%2F12%2Faaron-sorkin-new-yorker-succession-jeremy-strong-1234889154%2F

Chastain actually defended Strong on December 7 before either of them. 

Ive known Jeremy Strong for 20yrs & worked with him on 2 films. Hes a lovely person. Very inspiring & passionate about his work. The profile that came out on him was incredibly one sided. Don’t believe everything you read folks. Snark sells but maybe its time we move beyond it.

— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) December 8, 2021

Clearly, these three have a WhatsApp group. 

It’s likely Strong doesn’t care people think about his acting techniques, and the average Joe couldn’t give a shit. Either that writer with The New Yorker gets off on fucking with perception within the industry or just needed to monetize more noise. Regardless, don’t tread on our Kendall. Weird is in. 

Cover Photo: HBO

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