Jeremy Strong ‘begged’ director Aaron Sorkin to tear-gas him when filming The Trial of the Chicago 7

'Succession' actor also reportedly asked to be thrown to the ground before every take

Succession star Jeremy Strong reportedly “begged” director Aaron Sorkin to tear-gas him on set for the forthcoming film The Trial of the Chicago 7.

When filming riot scenes on location in Chicago’s Grant Park, Sorkin said that “Jeremy begged me to spray him with real tear gas”. Sorkin, however, declined to do so.

In a Vanity Fair profile on the forthcoming Netflix drama, Sorkin spoke about Strong’s method acting.

According to him, Strong also demanded that an ex-cop portraying a soldier in the film throw him to the ground before each take.

In the film, which also stars Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Frank Langella and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Strong plays the real-life civil rights activist Jerry Rubin.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 will chronicle how the peaceful anti-war protests outside the 1968 Democratic Convention became a fatal clash with police officers and the National Guard.

Sorkin and Strong previously worked together on the 2017 film Molly’s Game.

Strong’s behaviour is not out of character for the actor. In an interview with Indiewire, his Succession co-star Brian Cox said, “Jeremy is interesting. He works in a specific kind of way, it’s a method way of working, and I totally respect”.

Strong previously served on the 2005 film The Ballad of Jack and Rose as an assistant to Daniel-Day Lewis, who is known for his extremely immersive method approach to acting.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 will be available via Netflix from 16 October. It is one of the streaming giant’s many Oscar contenders this autumn.