According to Deadline, Jeremy Strong, star of HBO's Succession, has a problem switching off his highly imitable character Kendall Roy.
As Succession draws to a close this Sunday, it feels like the entire internet can't stop reflecting on the series's magnificent run. Although HBO has a lengthy history of spawning some of the greatest drama shows ever created, Succession's unique ability to showcase contemporary issues and themes puts the series in rarified air amongst its peers. One element that helps Succession keep its finger so firmly on the pulse is how incredibly textured its characters are.
The show's protagonist Kendall Roy, expertly played by Jeremy Strong, exists as one of the most incisive and accurate examples of the privileged, Millennial yuppie character ever recorded. Kendall Roy has permeated the zeitgeist so effectively that parodying his unique verbal tics has become something of a secret handshake among the show's fans.
Hell, it's so much fun to perform a Kendall impression that even Jeremy Strong has difficulty turning it off. In the quote below, Nora From Queens actor Bowen Yang recounts a chance encounter with Strong, who remained in character during their interaction.
"The most recent season of 'Nora From Queens' shot at the same studio as this season of 'Succession,'" Yang said. "The 'Nora From Queens' production office was pretty close to the 'Succession' stages and their production office, and as we famously know, Jeremy Strong is a method actor. At one point, Jeremy walks into the 'Nora From Queens' production office and says, 'Excuse me, do you know where the bathroom is?' and then someone in the office is like, 'Yeah, it's just down the hall to the left.' He goes, 'Thank you so much' and he leaves.
"So Jeremy leaves," Yang added. "Ten minutes pass, and a [production assistant] from 'Succession' comes into the office and goes, 'Hi, was Jeremy just in here?' and they were like, 'Yeah he was — he went to the bathroom' and then this PA goes, 'Did he ask where it was? Did he come here to ask you where the bathroom was?' They were like, 'Yeah, why?' and the PA says, 'He has a scene today where he has to ask someone where the bathroom is.' I think that is method to such a ridiculous degree that he must be in on the joke."
