‘I Know That He Is a Reviled Person’ — The Social Reckoning Star Jeremy Strong Says He Emailed Mark Zuckerberg to Promise to Approach the Role ‘With Respect’

The sequel to David Fincher’s The Social Network, The Social Reckoning, is coming connected October 9, and with it, a caller prima stepping into the shoes of its main character, Mark Zuckerberg. That antheral is Succession’s eldest lad himself, Jeremy Strong.

Strong precocious spoke with GQ, wherever helium discussed the relation and pursuing connected from Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of Facebook’s creator successful the 2010 original. Upon accepting the part, Strong revealed that helium emailed Zuckerberg himself, but wouldn’t uncover precisely what was written successful it, oregon if helium ever got a reply.

“I wrote to him — I’m astir apt going to springiness Sony an aneurysm — I sent him an email,” Strong revealed. “Just to accidental that I instrumentality this work precise seriously, and the veracity of it seriously, and I’m approaching it with respect.”

The recasting of the Facebook CEO came aft Eisenberg turned down the accidental to instrumentality to the character. "He simply did not privation to beryllium conflated with Mark Zuckerberg anymore; helium has his problems with the guy," Sorkin explained.

Strong went to archer GQ astir wherefore helium didn’t stock the aforesaid concerns. “It’s the benignant of relation that fascinates me. It’s similar Sebastian [Stan] playing Trump. You are wearing the cape. It’s similar Jeremy [Allen White] playing Bruce [Springsteen]. It’s like, the perils of that could not beryllium greater. To perpetrate to it, and to beryllium escaped wrong it, is simply a large challenge… Listen, I cognize that helium is simply a reviled idiosyncratic and not a fashionable idiosyncratic successful our culture, but I bash not deliberation you should person an histrion playing him who wants to acceptable retired to condemn him.”

As for wherefore Zuckerberg whitethorn beryllium considered reviled, well, instrumentality your pick. There are the wide layoffs astatine Meta successful April. Or the information that the institution was tracking workers for AI training. Or the information that it was fined hundreds of millions of dollars successful narration to kid information fears connected the internet. And that’s conscionable successful the past fewer months.

The Succession prima is nary alien to committing heavy to roles, often immersing himself successful each facet of the quality he’s portraying. For example, for The Social Reckoning, contempt not being connected immoderate societal media platform, helium signed up for a Facebook relationship truthful helium could work done each of Zuckerberg’s oldest posts, and watched each of the footage of Zuckerberg testifying earlier Congress “until my eyes fell retired of my head”, the histrion said.

The sequel is mostly centered astir Zuckerberg’s appearances earlier the US authorities pursuing the 2021 leaks by whistleblowers Frances Haugen and Jeff Horwirtz, being played by Anora’s Mikey Madison and The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White, respectively.

This level of committedness is seemingly besides being shown by Strong successful respect to different of his upcoming projects, an adaptation of The Boys from Brazil, successful which he’ll play a Nazi hunter. The GQ diagnostic with the histrion reveals that helium spent a full 7 months speaking successful a Polish accent during the movie’s production.

“He called maine six oregon 8 weeks ago, and without immoderate introduction, helium was conscionable speaking arsenic an Eastern European Nazi hunter, talking to maine astir the movie we had conscionable made, without saying, ‘Hey, listen, this is going to dependable strange, but…,’” said Aaron Sorkin, writer and manager of The Social Reckoning.

We won’t person to hold agelong to spot however each of this mentation has contributed to the occurrence of The Social Reckoning, arsenic it hits theaters connected October 9. Whether Mark Zuckerberg volition beryllium down to ticker it is simply a wholly antithetic question.

Simon Cardy is simply a Senior Editor astatine IGN who tin chiefly beryllium recovered skulking astir unfastened satellite games, indulging successful Korean cinema, oregon despairing astatine the authorities of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him connected Bluesky astatine @cardy.bsky.social.