Michelle Williams Shares How Succession’s Jeremy Strong Helped Raise Her Daughter After Heath Ledger’s Death

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Michelle Williams opened up about her friendship with Succession star Jeremy Strong, sharing that he helped raise her daughter following Heath Ledger’s death.

“Jeremy was serious enough to hold the weight of a child’s broken heart and sensitive enough to understand how to approach her through play and games and silliness,” Williams said of Strong’s relationship with her daughter in a recent interview with Variety’s Brent Lang.

The actress also revealed that Strong moved in with Williams and her daughter Matilda, who was two at the time, after Ledger died of an accidental overdose in 2008.

“[Matilda] didn’t grow up with her father, but she grew up with her Jeremy and we were changed by his ability to play as though his life depended upon it, because hers did,” Williams added.

Williams made the comments while calling out last year’s New Yorker profile of Strong, which depicted him as an overly intense, almost obsessive, Method actor.

Several stars that have worked with Strong later condemned the profile as a hit piece, with director Aaron Sorkin saying it presented a “distorted picture of Jeremy.”

“We’ve all been in awe of his talent,” Williams said, continuing to defend Strong. “We’ve watched him work harder than anyone and wait a long time for other people to recognize it. So when he became so celebrated, we all celebrated.”

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