Alan Sorkin had previously collaborated with this highly acclaimed actor in two of his own directed films, "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "The Trial of the Chicago 7." Therefore, when Jeremy Strong appeared on the set of "The Social Reckoning," speaking and acting in the manner of the founder of Facebook, Sorkin was not surprised at all.
But Solzhenitsyn never imagined that Strong would eventually become a staunch defender of Zuckerberg in this process.
“I know he’s a very immersive actor,” Sorkin told Business Insider, “I’ve never heard him speak in his own voice. He only speaks as Mark, and he only acts in the way Mark would. But I didn’t expect him to constantly defend Mark. Not just on set, but even the emails I received at the hotel at night were the same.”
Sorkin said that this situation continued even into the post-production phase. At that time, Strong, still in the role of Zuckerberg, argued with the director over a line of dialogue in the movie.
Sorkin mentioned that Strong, who appeared in the role of "Mark Zuckerberg," once wrote to him for a particular scene. In that scene, Strong's character is arguing with Charlie, played by Bill Burr. Charlie is a fictional former investor in Facebook; the two discuss issues related to freedom of speech and fact-checking in advertising.
"Jeremy thinks that, in the end, it's all about money. Mark is saying that this is a business, it's about money, and that's why we do it this way," Salkin continued.
"But that's not the argument Mark keeps making throughout the whole movie; what he keeps saying is that this is a matter of freedom of speech. Facebook refers to the town square. So my opinion is that Mark isn't saying it's about money. In fact, at that moment, Mark made the same argument as Frances said at the end: go talk to the people who make the laws. I'm not the person you should turn to; go to Congress instead. Well, that line is still in the movie now, so I won that argument."
Despite these challenges, Solkin stated that he would not change the way Strong approaches his work. And it seems that Strong himself has no intention of changing either.
Recently, in an interview with The New Yorker, discussing his acting style, Strong said, "If some people think I take this too seriously, or if it changes the atmosphere in the room and makes it uncomfortable, I don’t think that’s something I need to apologize for."
