Jeremy Strong is known for his “extremist” acting approach, in which he prefers to slip inside the skin of his characters long after the director calls “cut.”
While playing Kendall Roy on HBO’s prestige drama Succession, the 46-year-old star, Jeremy Strong immersed himself so deeply into his troubled character, that he almost took his own life for the role.
Kendall Roy is a tortured soul, disguised in corporate quiet-luxury clothing. While he may seem like he’s winning on the outside due to his lavish penthouse and famous family name, inwardly, he’s suffering due to a fatal car crash incident, which took a waiter’s life in the season 1 finale.
Following the eldest boy’s commitment of vehicular manslaughter, viewers watch as Kendall snaps. Although he rarely mentions the traumatic incident on screen, it follows him wherever he goes like a stench. We see it in his eyes, in his mannerisms, and his newfound stammering cadence. Kendall doesn’t have to say anything about the anguish he’s carrying, but we as viewers instinctively know. That’s thanks to Jeremy Strong’s exceptional performance on the HBO hit, where he delivers one of the most convincing performances in the history of television.
This is, in part, due to Strong’s own willingness to take on Kendall’s pain- regardless of how fatal of a task it is. “Kendall’s rage, his pain, his contempt, his shame, his feelings of inadequacy – all of those things are mine,” Strong revealed during an interview with The Guardian.
Kendall Roy Almost Jumped in The River In Succession Finale Due To Jeremy Strong
Who could forget that haunting final shot in Succession, where Kendall Roy gazes hopelessly out at the Hudson River? This incident occurs after the eldest boy learns the position of CEO for Waystar has been given to Tom Wamsgans, leaving Kendall with nothing.
On the surface, it’s easy to dismiss the final scene as lackluster, since it’s just business. Yet when it comes to Kendall Roy, there’s no such thing as “just business.” Becoming CEO has been his whole identity since the very beginning. It’s his reason for being. Because of his father’s abuse, Kendall has been conditioned to believe since childhood that nothing else matters. So how is he supposed to adjust after learning the one thing he’s worked his whole life for is no longer an option?
For Jeremy Strong, at least, his instinct was to end Kendall Roy’s life. From his perspective, hurling himself into the Hudson River is exactly what Kendall would do. So while the camera was still rolling, Strong ran off to the rails guarding the water, during the coldest day of the year. According to the Succession director, the final scene of the series was shot in dangerous weather conditions. It was already unbearably freezing, yet jumping into the water would be a potentially fatal act that would likely require immediate medical assistance.
The series creator, Jesse Armstrong, recalled how horrified he was with Strong’s improvisational choice to jump in the water. “Once he climbed over that barrier, when you film, there are generally a lot of health and safety assessments made…I was terrified. I was terrified that he might fall in and be injured.”
Fortunately, his co-star who plays Kendall’s security guard, Colin, was there to pull him back while managing to stay in character. “That was not our plan that day,” the Succession creator revealed. “If we’d even been thinking of that happening, we would have had boats and frogmen and all kinds of safety measures, which we didn’t have.”
Armstrong continued, saying, “So my first thought was for his physical safety as a human being, not anything about the character. That’s what I felt on the day. Good Lord, above.”
What are your thoughts on the Succession finale? Let us know in the comments section below.
Simone Torn is a pop culture writer with 10 years of experience. She has written for several entertainment magazines such as Nicki Swift, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Dexerto, and more.
Source:https://themusicessentials.com/entertainment/jeremy-strong-nearly-killed-himself-while-filming-succession-final-shot/