Jeremy Strong’s Most Iconic ‘Succession’ Dialogue Was Never a Part of the Script; He Stole It From an Email

Actor Jeremy Strong, who recently appeared as Roy Cohn in The Apprentice alongside Sebastian Stan, received praise from the audience and the critics. Strong is widely known for his portrayal of Kendall Roy in HBO’s drama series Succession, which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

The actor is known for his intense method acting style roles across stage and on-screen, for which he has received both praise and concern. Jeremy Strong immerses himself into a character he’s playing, and Kendall Roy was no exception, as he not only played him perfectly on-screen but also used an impromptu line, which is now an iconic one.

Jeremy Strong reveals the truth behind Kendall Roy’s iconic line on Succession

HBO’s Succession is to date regarded as one of the greatest shows ever made for television. With a stellar cast including Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook, Brian Cox, and more, the black comedy satirical drama series received critical acclaim for its writing, humor, direction, characters, and performances of the actors.

Jeremy Strong, in his profile in The New Yorker, recalled one improvised line he said while filming. The actor recalled that during the filming for the Rava scene, his character complained about his girlfriend Naomi, and during one of the takes, he said,

She, uh, thinks she’s on the ‘attractive edge of a co-dependent black hole.

The actor revealed that the iconic line for which he has earned a lot of praise was not a part of the script. It was picked up from an email that the creator of the show, Jesse Armstrong, had sent to Strong about Kendall Roy and Naomi’s relationship. The line wasn’t the only thing Strong improvised, but the finale scene where Kendall Roy climbs over the railing at the river as if he may jump was also improvised.

Series creator Jesse Armstrong appeared on NPR’s Fresh Air and explained (via CNN),

I was terrified. I was terrified that he might fall in and be injured. He didn’t look like he was going to jump in. But once he climbed over that barrier—when you film, there are generally a lot of health and safety assessments made, and that was not our plan that day.

Armstrong noted that they had no idea that Strong was going to improvise the scene like that, which is why they couldn’t be prepared.

Strong had shared with CNN’s Anderson Cooper about his improvised scene and noted that one of the incredible things about working with a character for seven years is the fact that instincts become a part of the personality.

Jeremy Strong talks about playing Roy Cohn in The Apprentice

Succession actor appeared alongside Sebastian Stan in The Apprentice as Roy Cohn, a lawyer and political hitman. Cohn, who took young Donald Trump under his wing, has been regarded as one of the worst human beings of the 20th century. In an interview with Gold Derby, the actor shared,

It’s been a real uphill battle to find any traction for this movie. The movie couldn’t find distribution. People were afraid to touch the movie. People have been hesitant to engage with the movie because of the political charge. But the thing that I love about the movie and the reason that I did the movie is purely in a creative column.

The actor added that it’s a character study and filmmaker Ali Abbasi is a visionary. Strong admits that he was initially hesitant to play Roy Cohn because he was a vile, monstrous person, adding that there have been some amazing documentaries about him. He added that his hesitation came after he realized that he had to portray the character with a level of documentary realism.

Jeremy Strong recalled that for him to play Roy Cohn, he needed to be precise with emotional veracity. As an actor, Strong loves to get under the skin of the character, and Roy Cohn was no different, as he shared that playing the character felt like the greatest chance he’s ever been given.

He also mentioned that working with Sebastian Stan is probably one of his favorite experiences ever working with an actor. He noted that they both trusted each other with their part and just moved along.

The Apprentice is available to stream on Prime Video.