Jeremy Strong ‘keeps his distance’ from Brian Cox on Succession set, Adrien Brody claims

Adrien Brody has claimed that Jeremy Strong keeps his “distance” from his Succession co-star Brian Cox on set.

Strong, who plays Kendall Roy on the HBO drama, is known for his Method acting, with a profile last year describing how the actor takes every role as “seriously as his own life”.

Meanwhile Cox, who plays patriarch Logan Roy, has said that he has no interest in the practice, which he recently called “crap” and “American s***”.

“I don’t hang onto the characters I play,” he said. “I let them go through me. The thing is to be ready to accept, as an actor. You stand there, you’re ready to accept whatever is thrown at you.”

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Brody was asked about whether he perceived a difference in Strong and Cox’s acting styles when guest starring in the third season of Succession, as Waystar RoyCo shareholder Josh Aaronson.

“I think everyone has a responsibility to be malleable to other people’s approaches,” he said. “That’s part of the job. It’s not an exact science.

“I think the hard part comes when an actor disrupts the flow. That can come from many reasons: insecurity about where they’re at in that moment, whether they’re connecting or not, or from ego. Or some other thing.”

However, Brody added that he had never had a negative experience with Strong on the set of Succession.

“I thought Jeremy was a wonderful scene partner and very thoughtful. He reached out to me prior to coming on board, and we got together,” he said.

“I did notice that he was keeping his distance from Brian on set, but I just thought it was all really interesting. I think Brian [couldn’t] probably care less, but it was obviously working for Jeremy. I just remember thinking, ‘Wow, this is so fun to step into this.’

“And it all went without a hitch… You know, whatever works – and what they are doing on that show is clearly working.”

The Independent has contacted Strong’s representatives for comment.

This week, Strong spoke about the controversy surrounding his behaviour on set, saying it was all simply “noise”.

“It’s something I really just want to free myself from,” he said. “There’s a lot of mythologising about my process. But it’s very unremarkable and is really just about concentration.

“I’m just an actor trying to work hard and take risks. And the drama of all that I feel is just noise.”