Exclusive: Director James Gray and Jeremy Strong talk Armageddon Time
Currently in theaters from Focus Features is Armageddon Time, the most personal film yet from director James Gray (The Immigrant, The Lost City of Z) is also one of his greatest, an exquisitely detailed and deeply emotional etching of a time and place: Queens, 1980.
Set against the backdrop of a country on the cusp of ominous sociopolitical change, Armageddon Time follows Paul Graff (Banks Repeta), a sixth grader who dreams of becoming an artist. At the same time that Paul builds a friendship with classmate Johnny (Jaylin Webb), who’s mercilessly targeted by their racist teacher, he finds himself increasingly at odds with his parents (Jeremy Strong and Anne Hathaway), for whom financial success and assimilation are key to the family’s Jewish-American identity. Paul feels on firmest ground with his kind grandfather (Anthony Hopkins), whose life experiences have granted him a weathered compassion.
Born in Flushing, Queens, Gray has been directing films since the age of 25 with LIttle Odessa. He has since gone on to direct The Yards, We Own The Night, Two Lovers, The Immigrant, The Lost City of Z, and Ad Astra. Armageddon Time had its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
Strong is best known for his role as Kendall Roy in the HBO television series Succession. His performance is the series has garnered him several accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2020. Among his film credits are Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty, Peter Landesman's Parkland, Ava DuVernay's Selma, Adam McKay's The Big Short, Aaron Sorkin's Molly's Game, and The Trial of the Chicago 7.