More Publicly-Facing Nerds Please
Last week, Jeremy Strong lit the internet on fire when he used the word “dramaturgically” in an interview after the third episode of Succession’s final season ended.
Most of the “outrage” (if you can even call it that. It was more like a bunch of people going “look at this nerd!!”) had to do with the fact that Jeremy Strong acts like the exact person you would imagine saying a word like “dramaturgically.” He’s made waves in the past when he was profiled by GQ and people were able to get a glimpse into his acting method, which many found bizarre. Most of his interview profiles tend to follow the structure of “look at this guy who is so obsessed with his craft that he does all this weird stuff,” which I can admit doesn’t exactly help him out in these situations.
A little bit more context- this was said in the post-episode clip of “Connor’s Wedding.” Strong was asked about the crucial twist of the episode that happens fairly early on.
“I thought it made sense dramaturgically,” Strong said. Six words that would somehow spark a debate on whether or not the use of that word was pretentious or not.
Now here’s the deal. I don’t really care when somebody is defined as “pretentious” mostly because I think that word is overused. Actual pretentious people are easy to ignore- if they were any louder they would begin to think of themselves as undignified, so it isn’t hard to block them out. The rest of the people that are defined as “pretentious” tend to be people that are overly passionate about something and like to talk about it.
I think that’s charming. I’m not really one for celebrity interviews- I tend to follow the “the more you know about an artist/celebrity, the less you like them” school of thought, but occasionally I’ll stumble upon an interview that looks interesting and check it out. If the interviewee’s passion for their work bleeds through I tend to find it more charming than anything and I’ll go through and binge as many of their old interviews as I can get my hands on.
Jeremy Strong is one of these people. His passion for his work smacks you in the face when you watch him talk about acting. He did an interview with Anne Hathaway for Variety that I would highly recommend. The way he talks about devoting his life to acting like it was his only choice is almost moving. I don’t see how you can watch that and not think it’s unbelievably cool.
Isn’t that the whole point? What am I working for now if it’s not feeling like that at 44? I just don’t see the cynical perspective on this, which is weird for me because that’s typically my go-to. Jeremy Strong, and people like him give me hope. It’s so easy to look around me and see all the adults miserable with their careers, but what about the people that are doing what they want to do?
In his Ten Things I Can’t Live Without appearance with GQ Strong includes a variety of artifacts he’s collected throughout his career. The clear joy he gets from talking about them and the specific moments he references make it clear that not only is he obsessed with his work, but it brings him joy.
So if Jeremy Strong wants to say dramaturgically, let him. It’s not like he used it incorrectly! Merriam Webster defines “dramaturgic” as “the art or technique of dramatic composition and theatrical representation.” He’s using a very specific word to talk about a very specific thing, but I don’t think that makes him pretentious. He’s not trying to sound smarter than you, he’s describing a very specific feeling.
I’m fully onboard with people talking seriously about their work, or even just talking in general on things they’re passionate about. It’s refreshing to see it in other people, and particularly celebrities.