Jesse Eisenberg has publicly stated that he no longer wishes to be associated with Mark Zuckerberg, explaining his decision not to reprise his role in the upcoming sequel to The Social Network. Speaking at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where he received the President's Award, Eisenberg reflected on his portrayal of the Facebook founder in David Fincher's acclaimed 2010 film.
Declining the Sequel Role
According to Variety, Eisenberg declined to return for Aaron Sorkin's sequel, The Social Reckoning. Jeremy Strong will take over the role of Zuckerberg. The sequel focuses on former Facebook engineer Frances Haugen, played by Mikey Madison, whose disclosures about the company became the basis for a series of reports by The Wall Street Journal. Jeremy Allen White will portray the newspaper's reporter.
Why He Doesn't Want to Be Linked to Zuckerberg
When asked whether he felt responsible for shaping public perceptions of Zuckerberg, Eisenberg said he no longer wanted to be linked to the technology executive. 'In fact, at the time, the movie seemed like such a strange thing to me because no one really knew who he was,' he said. 'He was interviewed on “60 Minutes,” which is our big news show, but otherwise he wasn't in the public a lot. I thought of it like an interesting character. And then he's 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.'
Broader Views on Social Media
Discussing social media more broadly, Eisenberg admitted he avoids using such platforms. 'It's not healthy. No human being has ever talked about themselves as much as I talk about myself. So I'm not on any social media. All that stuff scares me so much, you know, Facebook and social media, Twitter, whatever, because I already feel humiliated to be in public talking about myself. It's disgusting. All that stuff terrifies me.'
He added that his view of Zuckerberg had changed over time. 'Then, being in the movie about it, too, made it even more scary because I see that the person who created this website is not a person who cares about people. I'm like: well, if this guy is the creator of this world, I don't want to live in that world.'
Upcoming Projects
Eisenberg is currently promoting his latest directorial feature, The Debut, starring Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti, which is scheduled for release in the United States on December 3.
