'Dramaturgically': Succession’s Jeremy Strong becomes a meme with his language use

Virgin Radio

19 Apr 2023, 09:26

Succession star Jeremy Strong has defended his use of the word “dramaturgically” after he became a meme.

The actor was speaking about the critically-acclaimed third episode of the final season of Succession when he busted out a word that, if we’re all being totally honest, we had to Google in order to find out its meaning, didn’t we?

Talking in a featurette about the events of the episode (don’t worry, there are no spoilers here), Strong - who plays Kendall Roy - said: “I thought it made sense dramaturgically. And then when I read the script, I found it shocking and emotionally devastating.”

In case you haven’t looked it up yet, then don’t worry, because the official Twitter page for the Merriam-Webster dictionary shared the definition, writing: “dramaturgically | adverb | relating to the art or technique of dramatic composition and theatrical representation.”

Twitter users were quick to jump on the actor’s use of the word.

One person wrote: “If you told me one of the Succession cast members was going to drop the word "dramaturgically" in their after-show talking head I would've guessed Jeremy Strong on the first try.”

Someone else said: “‘I thought it made sense dramaturgically’ is a great default response when asked about decisions made in life.”

Another wrote: “‘I thought it made sense, dramaturgically.’ - me when I send a text late at night that is riddled with spelling errors.”

One commenter added: "Dramaturgically is a beautiful name for a baby girl."

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Strong, slightly bemused when told about the social media reaction, said: “Well, it’s a real word. I’m a theatre nerd and it’s a theatre nerd word, so I stand by it.”

Lots of people took to Twitter to stick up for the actor, too. One person wrote: “I feel like I'm losing my mind. Is it THAT weird for one of the greatest working actors to use the word ‘dramaturgically’? Do you also want a surgeon to use words like ‘boo boo’?”

Another added: “I want him to whisper dramaturgically to my ear every night actually.”

Someone else said: “Listen I think we as a society still need a couple of guys who still say stuff like ‘dramaturgically’ and Jeremy Strong is the man for the job.”

We agree. Thanks for teaching us a new word, Jeremy! 

Watch Succession on Sky and NOW.