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Jeremy Strong contacted Meta's Mark Zuckerberg before playing him in The Social Reckoning: ‘My job is to defend his POV’
Actor Jeremy Strong has revealed that he emailed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg before portraying him in the upcoming film The Social Reckoning.
Actor Jeremy Strong is taking over from Jesse Eisenberg to play Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in the upcoming film The Social Reckoning. Jesse played the billionaire in The Social Network, the Oscar-winning film from 2009. In a new interview, Jeremy has revealed that he reached out to Zuckerberg before beginning the shoot.
Jeremy Strong on playing Zuckerberg
In a new cover story for People magazine, the 47-year-old Jeremy Strong discussed his preparation for the film and his collaboration with writer-director Aaron Sorkin. The Social Reckoning has been described as a companion piece to The Social Network.
The new film follows Zuckerberg during the late 2010s and 2020, while then-Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz, played by Jeremy Allen White, works with Facebook employee Frances Haugen, portrayed by Mikey Madison, to investigate the company's practices.
Talking about how he did not want to vilify Zuckerberg, Jeremy Strong said, “Listen, I know that he is a reviled person and not a popular person in our culture, but I do not think you should have an actor playing him who wants to set out to condemn him. It feels incredibly fraught to talk about the movie, to talk about Mark and being the person who is playing Mark and representing Mark in a sense to the world and to posterity; I feel an enormous sense of weight and responsibility. And listen, my job is to understand and defend his point of view and fight his fight.”
While acknowledging the responsibility involved in portraying a real and highly controversial public figure, the actor said he personally contacted Zuckerberg before filming began. “I wrote to him, I'm probably going to give Sony an aneurysm, I sent him an email. Just to say that I take this responsibility very seriously, and the veracity of it seriously, and I'm approaching it with respect,” the actor said.
He added that Zuckerberg replied to the email but declined to reveal what the Meta CEO told him. However, he specified that he had not met the tech billionaire, explaining that he prefers to research his roles from a certain distance.
About The Social Reckoning
Jeremy Strong's portrayal has already generated significant attention following the release of the film's trailer in June. The Social Reckoning, which also stars Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White, Wunmi Mosaku, Betty Gilpin, Billy Magnussen, and Bill Burr, is scheduled to release in theatres on October 9.
