Aaron Sorkin Says Jeremy Strong Treated ‘Social Reckoning’ Co-Stars “The Way He Imagines Mark Zuckerberg Treats People”

As Jeremy Strong delivers his portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg, Aaron Sorkin has shed some light on the method actor’s process for this role.

The Social Reckoning writer/director was “not shocked” that Strong didn’t tell him about writing an email to Zuckerberg, confirming that the Oscar-nominated actor stayed in character as the Meta founder and CEO between takes.

“Jeremy does a lot of his own work. He does a tremendous amount of work before he shows up on your set,” he explained to NYT’s The Interview. “He did not speak in his own voice on the set or walk the way Jeremy walks.”

Sorkin continued, “I told all the other actors in his scenes: ‘Guys, he’s not going to be hanging out with you at craft service. He’s not going to be yucking it up with you between takes. He’s probably not going to speak to you at all. He is going to treat you the way he imagines Mark treats the people around him.’ And that’s what happened. You cannot argue with the results.”

Strong previously revealed that he emailed Zuckerberg before making the film to tell him he takes “this responsibility very seriously, and the veracity of it seriously, and I’m approaching it with respect.”

After The Social Network (2010) recounted Zuckerberg’s creation of Facebook and the controversy that ensued, screenwriter Sorkin returned to write and direct the upcoming sequel, which premieres Oct. 9, focusing on a 2021 document leak that exposed harm Facebook caused on society.

In The Social Reckoning, Facebook engineer Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison) goes to Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) with the social media platform’s most guarded secrets. Bill Burr, Wunmi Mosaku, Billy Magnussen and Betty Gilpin also star.