Jeremy Strong reveals the emotional toll of playing Kendall Roy

HBO’s “Succession” ended its highly successful run last year, but according to actor Jeremy Strong, starring on the show took an emotional toll on him.

“That fucked me up,” Strong, who played Kendall Roy on the satirical drama series for four seasons, told The Sunday Times.

The dark comedy series, which follows a dysfunctional, super-rich American media family, ended in May 2023 after four seasons.

Strong, 45, said she would imagine terrible things happening in real life to mentally prepare herself for playing Kendall.

But the Boston-born actor explained that his mental health has improved since the award-winning show ended, saying: “I rediscovered the play. Sometimes I lost touch with joy.”

Despite going through some emotional turmoil to play Kendall, it all seemingly paid off for Strong in the end.

“That show was an incalculable gift,” he said in the interview published on October 11. “The material is a feast. So I miss that. But Kendall’s struggle has been hard to bear for seven years and there’s so much more I want to do.”

When asked about the chances of a Kendall spinoff, Strong politely shut it down.

“It’s not something I feel like doing anymore,” he said. “I’m aware that it’s one of the main chapters in my life, but I don’t miss it.”

Strong’s comments come after he told People over the summer that he feels the show has been “shut down.”

“I’m sure there’s a desire for more (Succession),” he told the publication at the 2024 Tony Awards in June. “I would really pass that responsibility on to Jesse Armstrong,” he said, referring to the show’s creator.

Strong added: “But I think in terms of the role I played, it has reached its terminal point. So for me, this is something that is happily left aside.”