Jeremy Strong is the latest actor to comment on the ongoing debate about straight actors getting recognition for portraying queer characters. His remark followed his portrayal of lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn in Ali Abbasi’s biopic about Donald Trump, The Apprentice which will premiere on October 11, 2024.
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In an interview piece by the Los Angeles Times published on October 7, 2024, he was asked if he felt there was any validity in the criticism that straight actors often receive praise for portraying gay characters, while similar opportunities and recognition are still scarce for openly gay actors.
Jeremy Strong replied with affirmation saying,
“I’m sort of old fashioned, maybe, in the belief that, fundamentally, it’s [about] a person’s artistry, and that great artists, historically, have been able to, as it were, change the stamp of their nature. That’s your job as an actor.”
He continued:
“The task, in a way, is to render something that is not necessarily your native habitat. ... While I don’t think that it’s necessary [for gay roles to be played by gay performers], I think that it would be good if that were given more weight.”
Jeremy Strong’s character of Roy Cohn orchestrated the Lavender Scare that resulted in the removal of gay and lesbian employees from federal positions in the 1950s. Cohn was a closeted homosexual and served as Trump's mentor.
He was later disbarred for attempting to seize the fortune of a dying man and was referred to as "the polestar of human evil" by the Bad Gays podcast, which discusses the lives of complex and nefarious queer figures throughout history.
Jeremy Strong added that these roles must be taken seriously
Jeremy Strong expressed that anyone portraying a character should approach the role with the same seriousness as they would their own life, emphasizing that it was not a game.
He underscored the importance of respecting the struggles and experiences of the individuals being represented, stating they should not be treated lightly. The actor said,
“If I didn’t believe that I could understand on some deep level his anguish and turmoil and his need, and the sort of Gordian knot that every character has but Roy has particularly, if I didn’t believe that I could understand it or connect to it in a way that is faithful or voracious, I wouldn’t have done it. I certainly don’t do these things just for my own self-aggrandizement.”
Los Angeles Times noted that when Abbasi presented the role to Jeremy Strong, he already had a good understanding of Cohn. However, committing to The Apprentice intensified Strong's preparation, which involved analyzing video footage of Cohn to grasp his unique voice and interviewing Ken Auletta, a profiler of Cohn.
Strong noted that this role also required his most significant physical transformation.
According to Deadline, the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024 where it received an 11-minute standing ovation. However, amid the 2024 presidential election, Trump’s campaign sent a cease-and-desist letter to prevent the film from being screened in the US.
Despite this, the attempt was unsuccessful, as the film was subsequently shown at the Telluride Film Festival in August 2024.
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