Of course, Jeremy Strong learned how to fix a refrigerator to play a plumber

The Succession star went all in to prepare for his role in Armageddon Time

By Katie Chow  |  June 8, 2022 | 8:54pm
Aux News Refrigerator
Of course, Jeremy Strong learned how to fix a refrigerator to play a plumber
Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong Photo: Pascal Le Segretain

Last year, a New Yorker profile of Jeremy Strong set the internet ablaze with its details on the lengths the actor goes to inhabit his roles. Though undeniably intense–he fractured his foot from running in Tom Ford dress shoes on the set of Succession–his eccentricities seemed pretty unobtrusive to other people, considering everything Jared Leto inflicted on his Suicide Squad co-stars. (Well, other than when Strong asked to be sprayed with actual tear gas during an extras-heavy scene in The Trial Of The Chicago 7.)

While the article was a fascinating, nuanced look at a guy who works hard and also really loves burgers and Prada, it was interpreted by some readers as being a total hit piece. His previous collaborators Jessica Chastain, Aaron Sorkin, and Anne Hathaway leapt to his defense on social media.

Now, Strong and Hathaway have been reunited in a conversation for Variety, discussing their roles on Succession and WeCrashed as Emmy nominations approach. Naturally, the subject of process came up, and Hathaway offered up a fresh anecdote about her friend’s approach to getting into character.

“[When] we worked together in Armageddon Time, your character was a plumber,” she says. “And you went to learn how to fix a refrigerator. It was a humbling moment for me as an actor to realize that you have more children than I do, and you were coming off of this huge lift. Plumber is a trade. It’s something that you can go and learn.”

The two actors are co-starring in James Gray’s new semi-autobiographical film about growing up in Queens, playing versions of the writer/director’s parents. They also previously worked together in the deeply bonkers noir Serenity, which gave Hathaway an early look at Strong’s willingness to get lost in a role.

“I remember you just appearing next to me, and you said, ‘I think I need to come up for air,’” the Princess Diaries star recalls.

This is truly an incredible amount of commitment to a character that, spoiler alert, is the personification of the rules in a video game that a kid makes as a fantasy about killing his stepfather. Learning how to be a plumber must have been comparatively simple.

While it’s a level of dedication that a lot of people wouldn’t reach, being able to fix a refrigerator is ultimately just a practical skill. Your move, Chris Pratt!

 
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