The Succession creator reveals his love of watching old movies, the joy of an office with no wi-fi, and his Princely doppelganger.
Jesse Armstrong met his longtime collaborator Sam Bain at university and the pair later wrote for UK comedy-sketch series Smack The Pony, before creating sitcoms Peep Show and The Old Guys, and comedy dramas Fresh Meat and Babylon. Together they also co-wrote Chris Morris’s 2010 Bafta-winning feature Four Lions.
Armstrong collaborated with Armando Iannucci on The Thick Of It, Veep and feature In The Loop – for which he was nominated for a best adapted screenplay Oscar – and with Charlie Brooker on Black Mirror.
In 2018, Armstrong created Succession, a comedy drama detailing the machinations of a family that runs a vast media conglomerate. The show won 19 Primetime Emmys across its four seasons, including Armstrong’s four consecutive awards for outstanding writing for a drama series.
Recently, he wrote and directed HBO Max feature Mountainhead, starring Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith and Ramy Youssef as tech bros reuniting in a remote chalet during a global financial crisis.
What is your office like?
It is nice but functional, about half an hour’s walk from where I live in south London. I keep it low tech. I don’t have wi-fi. It’s quite a haven.
What was your first job in the industry?
I was a political researcher on a television comedy show for comedian Rory Bremner. About a year later, Sam Bain and I wrote Peep Show.
Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
I often check in with my collaborator and friend Chris Morris. I look up to him because of his work, but I also seek his advice – and a walk around the park.
Who helped you most when you were starting out?
Gareth Edwards – a decent human being and kind man. He’s still a TV producer. He was among the first people to invite Sam and I in. When you are a youngish writer, the first person willing to pay you some money as a commission or option a script is important. I wish there were more people in the industry like Gareth.
What was your favourite film growing up?
Airplane!. Monty Python And The Holy Grail was a formative experience. Both had that shocking, I-didn’t-know-you-were-allowed-to-be-as-funny-as-this kind of feeling.
What do you like best about your job?
Without sounding too earnest, we all have our little thoughts about the world, culture, politics… having a way to express those to a wider audience never fails to feel remarkable to me.
What are you most proud of professionally?
Peep Show and Succession. I’m proud of the collaborations I’ve had in my career.
What’s the biggest professional mistake you have made?
I feel in that irritatingly Zen way you learn from everything. With me and Sam, there was a period in our careers when I was anxious about money and that people would stop saying yes if you started saying no. Maybe I encouraged us to take on a bit too much work when we were working on Peep Show.
What is your favourite festival or event, and why?
The one that sticks in my mind as a golden event was when Chris [Morris] took Four Lions to Sundance back in 2010. The mixture of the snow and the availability of filmmakers; Michael Winterbottom was around, and I admired all his work.
What excites you about the future of the business?
[Mountainhead is] about tech, and AI dominates. But when I think of the future, I feel scared about lots of my fellow professionals making a living. There’s going to be loads of challenges with AI but I bet people younger than me are going to come up with fascinating creative work nevertheless.
What book are you reading?
I’m a bit late to it, but Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead by Olga Tokarczuk.
What is the one TV series everyone should watch this year?
Suspect: The Shooting Of Jean Charles De Menezes. It’s tough to do an important but difficult piece like that and do it with such integrity.
What do you do to unwind?
[Long pause] The fact I take a while to answer might not be a good sign. I like cooking and watching older movies. I also do a bit of sport, so any football pitch where I’m thinking about how terrible I am at football certainly takes the mind off any professional concern.
Who would play you in the biopic of your life, and who would direct?
In my youth and young adulthood, some people used to see a similarity between me and Prince Edward. I know he’s trod the boards, so maybe he’d like to come back. And it always strikes me as a bit odd with all the great filmmakers from the UK that Prince William is the president of Bafta, so maybe they should give him a go.
No comments yet