Michelle Williams is defending Succession actor Jeremy Strong, who has been her friend for many, many years.
The two first met in 2004 when they both performed at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. After the tragic death of Heath Ledger, Jeremy moved into Michelle’s home along with Michelle’s sister and another friend.
In an interview with Variety, Michelle shared that Jeremy helped her and Heath’s young daughter Matilda during the difficult time:
“I think that unfortunately the word ‘method’ has become a buzzy one because of what happened to Jeremy Strong when he tried to describe his process. He takes his work as seriously as he takes his play.”
She went on, sweetly and sincerely saying:
“Jeremy was serious enough to hold the weight of a child’s broken heart and sensitive enough to understand how to approach [her] through play and games and silliness.”
She also commented on the New York profile that garnered Jeremy a lot of backlash, stating:
“It’s true that his clothes were always designer, but he had only one sweater and two t-shirts and they were torn at the neck because he would play ponies with my daughter and let her ride on his back and use his clothing as reins. So he walked around with his beautiful things ruined and he never thought twice about it and he never told her to stop.”
Michelle spoke highly of her friend, eloquently declaring:
“[Matilda] didn’t grow up with her father but she grew up with her Jeremy and we were changed by his ability to play as though his life depended on it, because hers did.
We’ve all been in awe of his talent. We’ve watched him work harder than anyone and wait a long time for other people to recognize it. So when he became so celebrated, we all celebrated.”
