Jeremy Strong emailed Mark Zuckerberg before The Social Reckoning shoot; actor says he wanted to approach role ‘with respect’

The actor, who portrays the Meta CEO in Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming film, says Zuckerberg responded to his message but he has kept their exchange private.

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

September 29, 2026 - 2:42 PM IST

Jeremy Strong is set to portray Mark Zuckerberg in Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming film The Social Reckoning, and the actor has revealed that he reached out to the Facebook co-founder before beginning work on the film. Strong said he emailed Zuckerberg to explain that he was taking the responsibility of portraying him seriously and intended to approach the role with respect.

Jeremy Strong emailed Mark Zuckerberg before The Social Reckoning shoot; actor says he wanted to approach role ‘with respect’

In a recent conversation with GQ, Strong discussed the challenges of playing a real-life figure who has been the subject of considerable public criticism. The actor said he did not want to approach the character with a predetermined judgment.

“Listen, I know that he is a reviled person and not a popular person in our culture, but I do not think you should have an actor playing him who wants to set out to condemn him,” he told GQ. “It feels incredibly fraught to talk about the movie, to talk about Mark and being the person who is playing Mark and representing Mark in a sense to the world and to posterity; I feel an enormous sense of weight and responsibility. And listen, my job is to understand and defend his point of view and fight his fight.”

Strong subsequently revealed that he decided to contact Zuckerberg directly before filming. “I wrote to him—I’m probably going to give Sony an aneurysm—I sent him an email,” he shared and added, “Just to say that I take this responsibility very seriously, and the veracity of it seriously, and I’m approaching it with respect.” According to Strong, Zuckerberg did respond to the email. However, the actor chose not to disclose the details of their correspondence, leaving the nature of their exchange private.

Directed by Aaron Sorkin, The Social Reckoning draws from the events surrounding The Wall Street Journal’s 2021 investigative series, The Facebook Files. The film follows Frances Haugen, played by Mikey Madison, a young Facebook engineer who turns whistleblower, and Jeff Horwitz, portrayed by Jeremy Allen White, the Wall Street Journal reporter who works with her to investigate the social network.

Jeremy Strong plays Zuckerberg in the film, which looks at the events and revelations surrounding Facebook and the people involved in bringing its internal practices to public attention.

The Social Reckoning is scheduled to release in theatres on October 9. Sony Pictures Entertainment India will release the film exclusively in English across Indian cinemas.

Also Read: Aaron Sorkin opens up on Jeremy Strong playing Mark Zuckerberg transformation in The Social Reckoning: “He did not speak in his own voice”