Jesse Eisenberg says he won't be associated with Zuckerberg
Jesse Eisenberg says he doesn't want to be associated with Mark Zuckerberg anymore. Speaking at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival after receiving the President's Award, the actor-director explained why he refused to reprise his Oscar-nominated role in Aaron Sorkin's sequel The Social Reckoning, with Succession star Jeremy Strong replacing him as the Meta CEO.
Key Takeaways
- Eisenberg declined to return as Zuckerberg in Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning, the sequel to 2010's The Social Network.
- At Karlovy Vary, he said he no longer wants to be associated with Zuckerberg and dislikes the public comparison.
- Jeremy Strong replaced Eisenberg; Mikey Madison plays whistleblower Frances Haugen and Jeremy Allen White plays a reporter.
- Eisenberg said the creator of Facebook does not care about people and that social media terrifies him as a public figure.
Why won't Jesse Eisenberg return as Mark Zuckerberg?
Actor-director Jesse Eisenberg addressed the question during an in-conversation event at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where he is this year's recipient of the President's Award. Eisenberg was asked whether he felt any responsibility for shaping the public image of the technology mogul through his performance in David Fincher's 2010 drama.
His answer was blunt: he does not want to reprise the role because he no longer wants to be associated with Zuckerberg. When the original film was made, Eisenberg said, the Facebook founder was not widely known outside of a 60 Minutes interview. What began as an interesting character study became something he now rejects.
"He wasn't very known at the time," Eisenberg said. "He has become famous and now I don't want to do the movie… I don't want to be associated with him anymore because I don't really like the comparison."
Who is playing Zuckerberg in The Social Reckoning instead?
With Eisenberg out, Succession star Jeremy Strong stepped into the role for Sorkin's upcoming follow-up. The sequel also stars Oscar winner Mikey Madison as young Facebook engineer Frances Haugen, who blows the whistle on the social network's most guarded secrets to a Wall Street Journal reporter played by The Bear lead Jeremy Allen White.
Sorkin, who won an Oscar for writing the first film, returns to write and direct the sequel, replacing Fincher behind the camera. For more on streaming and TV casting shifts, see our Streaming & TV Alerts coverage.
What did Eisenberg say about social media at Karlovy Vary?
Asked about the growth of social media since 2010, Eisenberg said that as an actor he already talks about himself too much and stays off every platform. "All that stuff scares me so much," he said, citing Facebook, social media, and Twitter.
Playing Zuckerberg made that fear sharper. "I see that the person who created this website is not a person who cares about people," Eisenberg said. "I'm like: well, if this guy is the creator of this world, I don't want to live in that world."
What else is Eisenberg doing at the festival?
Earlier in the day, Eisenberg received the Karlovy Vary President's Award ahead of a packed screening of Richard Ayoade's The Double. He is preparing to release his next directorial effort, A24's The Debut, starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti, scheduled for U.S. release on Dec. 3.