Alan Ruck has shared his view on the acting methods of his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong.
Ruck plays Connor Roy in the satirical drama, the older brother to Strong’s Kendall Roy.
Strong is known to use method acting for his role, which involves staying in character outside of the recorded scenes.
Brian Cox, who plays patriarch Logan Roy in the series, has been dismissive of method acting on several occasions. Earlier this month, he waved the practice off as being “American s**t”.
In a new interview, Ruck weighed in on the debate. While he stated that he doesn’t use method acting himself, Ruck was supportive of Strong utilising the tools he prefers to get his optimal performance.
“Every actor is different,” he told Evening Standard. “Sometimes an actor like Jeremy needs to stay in their zone 24/7, or they truly feel like they can’t deliver their best work. That’s fine. Let him do it.”
Later in the interview, published on Monday (27 March), Ruck went on to state that his on-screen brother was “very hard on himself” and could achieve the same performance results without it taking a toll on his real life.
“I think Jeremy is very hard on himself,” Ruck said. “And my personal feeling is that he doesn’t fully trust his talent. I think it could be an easier path for him. But he doesn’t believe it.”
Ruck added that Cox’s disagreement with method acting is partially out of concern for Strong.
“I think Brian is actually worried for Jeremy’s well-being,” he explained. “Because Jeremy said one time that doing a role should cost you something.
“I think you do have to be fully invested, but if you need to give a pound of flesh every time you give a performance, at some point there’s not going to be anything left.”
In her interview with The Independent, Justine Lupe (Willa) shared her appreciation for Strong, saying that he had been “really kind” to her in the early stages of her career.
The final season of Succession is currently airing, with new episodes broadcasting on Sunday nights in the US and on Mondays in the UK. You can read The Independent’s review of the first episodes of season four here.
