Former Succession star Jeremy Strong has revealed he spoke in a Polish accent for seven months while preparing for a film role.

The actor is known for his embrace of method acting, where he inhabits his role for the entirety of the production.

In a new interview with GQ, promoting his forthcoming role as Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Reckoning, he is described as speaking with a Polish accent, something he had been doing for seven months while shooting a TV miniseries, a remake of the War classic The Boys From Brazil.

When addressing the decision, he told the outlet: “I don’t want it to feel like an accent. I want it to just be a person, and that’s their voice—and our voice is the most individual thing about us.” The article spoke with collaborators of Strong’s who confirmed he would speak to them in the accent without explanation.

“He called me six or eight weeks ago,” said Aaron Sorkin, the writer and director of The Social Reckoning, “and without any introduction, he was just speaking as an Eastern European Nazi hunter, talking to me about the movie we had just made, without saying, ‘Hey, listen, this is going to sound strange, but.
’ ”

Bradley Cooper, Strong’s friend, also spoke about how he inhabits characters in social interactions. “I enjoy very much talking to him when he’s in the throes of these other people,” he said. “I love it. I’ve talked to Mark Zuckerberg many times—I had a whole friendship with Mark Zuckerberg, and Mark Zuckerberg has no idea.”

When discussing he commitment to preparation, Strong told GQ: “A big, big part, for me, of being an actor, is just walking right through those fears. It’s just about committing to it. It’s like, I can tell if I have not crossed that Rubicon.

“And sometimes you have to be willing to be uncomfortable, or make other people uncomfortable. At the end of the day, the literal only thing that matters to me is what’s going to end up on screen. That is the only thing. And I’ll take the hits in order to try to fully do that.”

One former co-star who didn’t care for his approach was Brian Cox, Strong’s on-screen father in Succession. He has spoken several times on his disdain for the actor’s approach, calling it “fucking annoying” and “American shit”. He also revealed Strong “begged” him to stop talking about it in interviews.

The post Jeremy Strong spoke in Polish accent for seven months while prepping next film role appeared first on NME.