Succession - How Jeremy Strong Perfected Kendall Roy

this video is sponsored by Squarespace [Music] when succession first came onto our screens in 2018 it introduced an impressive Ensemble of fresh Talent yes we all knew Brian Cox remembered Alan Rock and recognized Kieran coken but the show's key protagonist was far from a household name Jeremy Strong wanted to be an actor since he was 10 years old idolizing the careers of Al Pacino Dustin Hoffman and Daniel J Lewis but having started in theater and graduating to Broadway a successful career in film or television seemed to be eluding him he would occasionally pop up as a supporting role in The Good Wife Zero Dark Thirty or Lincoln but it was through his role in The Big Short that he caught the attention of director Adam McKay who would later produce succession having initially wanted to play Roman he was asked to read for Kendall and now at the age of 39 he was finally given the opportunity to showcase his ability as an actor not a huge platform unlike the other cast members Jeremy prefers to remain fully immersed in his character he doesn't consider this method acting but rather a form of identity diffusion he stated I can't work in a way that feels like I'm making a television show I need for whatever reason to believe that it's real and commit myself to that sense of belief there are no half measures in Jeremy's approach in the famous vote of no confidence episode he insisted on running in his Gucci shoes take after take so that the performance would look and sound genuinely out of breath leading to him fracturing his foot and as his character's 40th birthday party he joked off stage and injured his leg in a shot that was later be cut strong would even isolate himself from the rest of the cast so thus just like Kendall he would feel more like the black sheep of the family and thus create a sense of distance or fracture in his relationships on screen as intense as his methods may seem the results were undeniable and earned him a whole host of awards including his first Emmy sag and Golden Globe so let's take a deeper look at this highly vulnerable performance to understand what makes it so engrossing we'll start with the first key the physicality of the character in a family of emotionally repressed misanthropes Kendall stands out as the most visually vulnerable Jeremy delivers this performance wearing his character's heart on his sleeve which is a vitally important ingredient for helping the audience to identify with him as if Kendall was just as sarcastic as Roman or just as guarded as shiv we wouldn't feel like he's in as much danger when he's being thwarted or verbally abused by his father as we would see his self-protective measures in place whereas by seeing him weak seeing him Hersh seeing him vulnerable we feel a natural need to protect him from himself this is why Jeremy plays Kendall like an open wound as if everything is taken personally and catalyzes a physical reaction throughout his body if you just think about Kendall's body language you always get an immediate read on his internal state from how he carries himself in season 1 he starts off stiff and rigid expecting if he follows the rules by the book that he'll get what he feels is his right that in season 2 when he's turned into Logan's puppet he now carries this emotional weight with him into each scene like he's mourning the death of his dreams which happens again in season three after he's left broken from his battle with Logan the character is highly insecure that he'll never be able to fill his father's shoes so Jeremy works that internal insecurity into subtle external exhibitions for instance look at how he shakes hands when he finally gets what he wants now a more secure person would deliver a firm handshake knowing they're providing Mutual benefit but Kendall shakes hands like the other person is doing him a huge favor by trusting him another sign of the character's insecurity is how he speaks think of how Logan sounds as he gives an order or even just says what he thinks he's always confident clear and certain whereas Kendall trips over his words stuttering and stammering he he you know he he you're just uh you're always like we could we could and just I I that has I I hinted which highlights the trepidation in his own leadership whether it's due to Logan's emotional abuse or his lack of practical experience he doesn't trust his own instincts yet which causes other people around him to doubt him as much as he did himself if Kendall had always been a smooth talking natural leader then the entire dynamic between he and his father would be different and his Reign would feel inevitable whereas this way we go back and forth between wanting Logan to guide his son more constructively and feeling as if he just isn't ready or right for the job even his intense eye contact is a symptom of his insecurity as his confidence is so based on other people's perception of him that he wants to see every micro movement of their reaction so that he has proof that they really do trust or like him whereas when he's ashamed of his own actions then he cannot meet their gaze as he doesn't want to be seen for who he really is for example in season 2 when Kendall tells shiv that he'll never be in charge he can't tell her the reason why so after using eye contact to plead with her the moment she invites him to get it off his chest he Retreats like a scared child and can no longer look at her I really can't or in one of my favorite scenes when Kendo gives Logan the bear hug letter Jeremy plays a confused mixture of bravery and shame he starts off courageous making direct eye contact as he tells his father how he's betrayed him but then as he gets into the details his uncertainty grows and he can no longer make clean eye contact as his breaths become more panicked and uh you're very tough and so am I as your son then under the Judgment of his father both as an enemy and a son he finishes his speech strong I'm not sorry for what I'm doing which is correct but I I'm sorry for how it makes you feel but then just at the end he looks away which after all that effort is like folding his hand in a game of poker to reveal how ashamed he truly is this feeds directly into the next key underlying emotions working their way to the surface it's always amazing when you can watch an actor not need to say anything but still intuitively understand what their character is feeling at any given moment especially when that feeling is layered if they're stressed and secure upset or defensive how will the actor then convey that to the audience every take is different and in the editing room the director and editor then choose the take that fits best with the narrative they're constructing sometimes the take is just to take other times there's something special there that just has to be included for example when the siblings confront Kendall about the bear hug as he anxiously comes up with an answer just notice how much Jeremy's head is vibrating in a state of panic how could you it uh it was out of my hands despite him verbally claiming it was out of his hands we can see his emotional distress wriggling through his entire body this tells the viewer that there's a conflict between who he's trying to be on the surface and who he really is underneath Jeremy does a heavy amount of internal preparation with the character which then enables him to unexpectedly uncover something honest and raw in the moment follow as you say a sense of Truth and then you discover what it is and it reveals itself to you but I don't ever prescribe a shape or know where I'm going and this really shines through when we sense the internal Agony the character is trying to cloak like when Logan confronts Kendall about what happened with the waiter and offers to drive him to his private plane giving his petrified son a way out and this time Jeremy weaponizes the sound of saliva in his throat to help us feel the character's nauseating anxiety Building inside him uh right I mean I mean uh what's so brilliant about this scene is that it's contrasted by the steadiness of Brian Cox who just watches on as Jeremy's entire body buckles under the pressure of interrogation or when Logan then brings him to the waitress family's home and leaves him waiting outside the room as he talks to the parents on paper the scene is just a man waiting in the kitchen but given the context and how transparently Jeremy wears each emotion it's easily the most interesting scene in the entire episode with no dialogue we watch him face his greatest fear externally and internally the shame physically oppresses him his head hanging down and barely able to lift it up he also adopts a respectful mournful stance with his hands gripping himself for safety and then he folds into the chair catatonically Frozen still for a show with such excellent dialogue Jeremy Strong has a unique ability to somehow make silence more captivating Than Words as throughout succession there are so many scenes and shots that just rely on Jeremy looking punctured by an emotion and then holding on to it for a long stretches of time as the longer he resides in such a vulnerable place the stronger we connect to it this leads into the final key emotional outpouring given Kendall's Baseline is visually vulnerable When Things become too much Jeremy has to push it over the finish line and really commits to a full-on emotional display and this is not as easy as it looks as tears flowing is one thing but selling us the genuine emotional state of the character is another ball game there is no textbook in how to make this feel relatable as every story and every character and every actor is different let's continue this earlier scene as Logan verbally beats his son into submission Kendall can't look up as he's drowning in shame he's stuck in this Frozen panicked Stace trying not to give in but once he looks up at his father standing there with his arms out he crumbles and that's when Jeremy just lets it go almost like a wounded animal the breaths chain out of him wheezing as he falls into his father's arms for protection like a scared child or at his birthday party surrounded by Hollow gifts from Hollow friends Kendall realizes how alone he truly is for me this moment is a great example of feeling slowly bubbling inside and then capturing him unexpectedly [Music] the most relatably human part of this is the way his hand Rises up to protect himself as the feeling travels through his ear to his face and then he just nosedives into tears sinking his whole body down deeper into the gifts a lesser actor would just look into the distance surrounded by boxes as tears gradually trickle down their face but Jeremy finds this familiar Agony inside himself that then bursts out and the result is undeniably authentic and as a final example after a season of failed attempts to take down his father Kendall finally confesses what really happened with the waiter as always he has to look away in shame unable to make eye contact with his siblings the breakdown reaches into new territory as even his voice turns into a high-pitched squeal making him feel like even more of a wounded child and to take it a step further Jeremy then has to laugh at Roman's joke while simultaneously crying and telling him not to make light of what he's done I don't mean still A Moment Like This is bizarre because if you take a step back it's quite hard to believe this isn't real for most of us it's rare enough to even experience this level of emotional outpouring but doing it on camera mixing in Bittersweet laughter with tears and snot bubbling out of his face is nothing short of incredible there is no vanity to this performance whatever the scene needs Jeremy gives and never anything less than that having grown up idolizing the likes of Al Pacino there is something poetic about Strong's breakthrough role mirroring that of Michael Corleone The Zone with the responsibility of taking over the family business after their father passes and although he doesn't call himself a method actor there are certain similarities that surely helped him to identify with this character as just like Kendall Roy Jeremy strong dedicated his life to an industry that had largely overlooked him always waiting in the wings hoping someone in charge would see something in him and give him the shot he'd been dreaming of and lucky for us when that opportunity finally came he grabbed it with both hands and turned it into something truly Unforgettable [Music] this video is sponsored by Squarespace everything is online these days and there is no better way to deliver a strong first impression than an elegant professional looking website Squarespace is an all-in-one platform you can use to build your brand and grow your business so whether it's showing off your creative work or selling a product or a service Squarespace makes this process so much smoother for example if you're a 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Channel: Just an Observation

Views: 150,692

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Id: TpoQVdUYBVU

Length: 15min 47sec (947 seconds)

Published: Wed May 03 2023