Jeremy Strong’s hardcore dedication to his “Succession” character is a well-tread territory, but his commitment to Kendall Roy’s threads is often overlooked. The actor actually has quite a large hand in dressing the Murdoch-like media empire’s failing-upwards-son. The intentional and occasionally flashy nature of Kendall’s outfits is expertly matched to the character’s various neuroses. The only person that puts more thought into Kendall’s clothes than Kendall himself is the performer that plays him, and it shows — especially in episode 6 of the series’ fourth and final season.
“Living+” is a series of nervous breakdowns, but Kendall’s might be the biggest of all. With a new product launch happening in Hollywood, he seizes the opportunity to put on a show. Strong has to deliver a major monologue that cycles through a lot of different emotions — confidence, grief, tragic stuttering — but the first thing that happened to the actor was what Kendall might wear on such a big day.
“The first thing I did when I read the script was written by the costume designer and the director from Norway and said, ‘I need a flight suit to wear for the product launch,'” he recalled in an interview with Vulture. Strong wanted to emulate an ambitious and outrageously wealthy tech personality, trying to appear theatrical and down-to-earth all at once: “I started doing some research and there was this costume designer named Jose Fernandez who designed a flight suit for Elon Musk. It was a ‘Chief Twit’ thing I wanted to embody.”
Strong never drops character while shooting, and he uses Kendall’s outfit selections as a way to get into the role. “I picked out all the wardrobe for Kendall Roy, my character in ‘Succession,’ and I lived in those clothes when we’re shooting the show,” he revealed to W Magazine. “The clothes maketh the man, and aesthetics are so personal.”
The flight suit is inspired by the one that the SpaceX founder wore
Jeremy Strong might be attentive to Kendall’s wardrobe, but his character is equally intentional about the way he dresses. Just like Elon Musk in his flight suit, Kendall has a history of using clothes to give himself a very fabricated casual edge, like the sneakers he wears to his business meeting at a young artists’ startup in season 1. He also uses his costume to be flashy, like his large chain necklace at his elaborate birthday party in season 3.
“I wanted something for Kendall’s birthday in season 3 that felt colossal,” Strong explained in a video segment with GQ. “Rashid Johnson is an artist that I’ve admired and I saw that he had collaborated with [jeweler] Liz Swig based on a series of paintings he made called the ‘Anxious Man’ paintings. This was like a keystone that made everything come together for me.”
Jewelry isn’t the only detail of Kendall’s wardrobe that the actor has been known to obsess over. “I have been very deliberate about Kendall’s sunglasses,” he said. Strong even had a discontinued pair made especially for him — “well, for Kendall” — with the character’s initials, KLR, engraved into the side.
“I have my pair — which also says KLR — and Kendall’s pair,” Strong explained. “So I do know where one ends and where the other begins,” he added, seems trying to convince himself.
