Jeremy Strong says he wants to know what Zuckerberg thinks of The Social Reckoning

Jeremy Strong contacted Mark Zuckerberg because he wants to know what Zuckerberg thinks of his performance.

Strong plays Zuckerberg in The Social Reckoning, which is set for release on Oct. 9 and dramatises the 2021 Facebook leak by whistleblower Frances Haugen and reporter Jeff Horwitz, according to Deadline. He said he cares how Zuckerberg will react to the film. He reached out for that reason.

He discussed the role with David Remnick on The New Yorker Radio Hour on Oct. 2, according to Deadline. The conversation covered preparation, sympathy and pressure. A video of the interview was published by The New Yorker Radio Hour.

Strong said he defended Zuckerberg a lot to director Aaron Sorkin during the making of the film. He also sent emails to Sorkin written as if he were Zuckerberg himself, according to Deadline. It was part of how he built the character.

The New Yorker published the wider conversation under the title "Jeremy Strong Is Not Quite Over It," in which Remnick talks with Strong about the role in The Social Reckoning, according to The New Yorker. In that interview, Strong discusses finding sympathy for Zuckerberg, Kendall Roy and Roy Cohn. Those three figures all came up in the same exchange.

Sorkin has described Strong's process in blunt terms. Strong treated his co-stars on The Social Reckoning the way he imagines Zuckerberg treats people, Sorkin said, according to Variety. The comment refers to on-set behaviour, not to the finished film.

What makes this stand out is the direct line between actor and subject. Strong is not waiting for reviews. He is waiting for one viewer in particular.