Jeremy Strong

**Jeremy Strong** is an American actor. He portrayed Kendall Roy, Logan Roy's second-eldest son, on *Succession*.

## Biography

### Early life and education

Jeremy Strong was born on December 25, 1978, in Boston, Massachusetts, and was raised in a "rough neighborhood" in the Jamaica Plain area. His mother, Maureen Strong, worked as a hospice nurse while his father, David Strong, worked in juvenile jails. Strong recalls that as children, he and his brothers would pretend to "take trips" in a canoe that their parents had placed on cinderblocks in the backyard because they couldn't afford real vacations. His parents eventually divorced after having a "tumultuous" relationship.

When he was 10, his family moved to Sudbury in search of better schools. There, he became interested in acting and began performing in musicals. As a teenager, he particularly idolized actors Daniel Day-Lewis, Al Pacino, and Dustin Hoffman, putting posters of them on his bedroom wall and reading every interview of theirs. In 1995, he worked as part of the greenery crew for *The Crucible*, which starred Day-Lewis. He then worked on the sound crew for *Amistad* (1997) and assisted in editing Pacino's directorial debut, *Looking for Richard* (1996).

Strong was accepted into Yale University and granted a scholarship. He intended to study drama but found the major too alienating upon his first day and immediately switched to English. He performed in several plays—all of which Pacino had done in the years prior, such as *American Buffalo* and *Hughie*—through the Yale Dramatic Association. He graduated in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts. He also briefly studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

### Career

#### 1995-2008: Early years

Shortly after graduating, Strong moved to New York and began working at a restaurant in Soho. He routinely mailed headshots and audition tapes of himself to talent agencies, but received no call backs for almost a year. In the summer of 2002, he began working as an assistant at the Williamstown Theatre Festival; the following year, he was hired as Day-Lewis' assistant on the set of *The Ballad of Jack and Rose*. At the end of the shoot, Day-Lewis was so appreciative of Strong that he wrote him a letter, containing what has become Strong's "most deeply held precepts and beliefs" about working in the film industry.

He then began appearing in off-Broadway productions. In 2008, he was asked to understudy for an actor who had a family emergency with short notice. He received favorable notice for his performance and was then signed to an agent.

#### 2009-2023: Breakthrough

Later in 2008, he made his Broadway debut in *A Man for All Seasons*. Having gained prominence from Broadway, he secured his first on-screen role in the film *Humboldt County*. He then went on to appear in films such as *Lincoln* (2012; alongside Day-Lewis), *Zero Dark Thirty* (2012), *Selma* (2014), and *The Trial of the Chicago 7* (2020). In 2015, he appeared in the film *The Big Short*, which led director Adam McKay to offer him a part in *Succession*. Strong auditioned of the role of the melancholic Kendall Roy after the role of Roman, which Strong was initially interested in, was given to Kieran Culkin. His performance as Kendall has received universal acclaim from critics, several accolades, and amassed a large fanbase, as the character has become an internet phenomenon.

In May 2023, it was announced that Strong would return to Broadway in an adaptation of the play *An Enemy of the People*. It is set premiere in early 2024.

## Personal life

His mother is of Irish descent and his father is of Jewish.

In 2016, he married Danish psychiatrist Emma Wall, whom he met four years prior at a party in New York. Together, they have three daughters, ages 2, 4, and 5. They reside in New York as well as have homes in Copenhagen and Tisvilde.

## Filmography

### Television

 2013
 2016
 2018–2023
 TBA

## Trivia

1. ↑ For *The Crucible*, Strong, at one point, stood outside a window and held up a branch during the filming of a scene. For *Amistad*, he held a boom operator over Anthony Hopkins during a monologue.
2. ↑ Strong arranged an offstage visit from Pacino using funds from the organization, upsetting its other members as the event almost bankrupt them.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Schulman, Michael‎ (December 5, 2021). "On “Succession,” Jeremy Strong Doesn’t Get the Joke". *The New Yorker*. Retrieved on October 2, 2023.
2. ↑ "Succession" star Jeremy Strong on CBS Sunday Morning - YouTube
3. ↑ McGovern, Kyle‎ (August 8, 2019). "For Succession’s Jeremy Strong, Acting Isn’t About Having Fun". *GQ*. Archived from the original on October 14, 2019. Retrieved on October 2, 2023.
4. ↑ Rochlin, Margy‎ (December 23, 2015). "Jeremy Strong of ‘The Big Short,’ Acting and Chewing Gum at the Same Time". *New York Times*. Retrieved on January 10, 2024.
5. ↑ Fitzgerald, Jordan, et al.‎ (April 3, 2022). "“Succession” star Jeremy Strong ’01 sits for sold-out talk". *Yale Daily News*. Retrieved on October 2, 2023.
6. ↑ Freeman, Hadley‎ (October 2, 2021). "‘His rage, his pain, his shame, they’re all mine’: Jeremy Strong on playing Succession’s Kendall Roy". *The Guardian*. Retrieved on October 2, 2023.
7. ↑ Cavender, Elena‎ (March 22, 2023). "'Succession's' Kendall Roy is now a mascot for teen girls". *Mashable*. Retrieved on October 2, 2023.
8. ↑ Schulman, Michael‎ (May 25, 2023). "Farewell, Kendall Roy". *The New Yorker*. Retrieved on October 2, 2023.
9. ↑ Lang, Brent‎ (May 12, 2023). "Jeremy Strong Returning to Broadway in ‘An Enemy of the People’". *Variety*. Retrieved on October 2, 2023.
10. ↑ Dean, Jonathon‎ (November 6, 2022). "Succession’s Jeremy Strong: ‘I had a crisis of faith’". *The Times*. Retrieved on October 2, 2023.
11. ↑ Mulkerrins, Jane‎ (August 3, 2019). "Who wants to be a billionaire? Succession star Jeremy Strong on playing the ultimate anti-hero". *The Telegraph*. Retrieved on October 2, 2023.
12. ↑ Nicholson, Rebecca‎ (December 24, 2019). "'They're damaged': Succession’s Jeremy Strong on sibling hell – and that cringey rap". *The Guardian*. Retrieved on October 2, 2023.
13. ↑ Renard, David‎ (August 5, 2018). "‘Succession’ Finale: Jeremy Strong on Kendall’s Struggles and What Comes Next". *The New York Times*. Retrieved on October 2, 2023.