Jeremy Strong Reveals Insane Roy Cohn-Trump Scene From ‘The Apprentice’ That Didn’t Make the Final Cut on Colbert

Actor Jeremy Strong talked to Stephen Colbert about playing Roy Cohn, whom he described as “vicious, despicable” and seen by many as “one of the worst humans of the 20th century.” But that didn’t mean there wasn’t room to play the late mob lawyer with a hint of whimsy!

During his conversation on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, Strong discussed how The Apprentice, the controversial biopic about the early career of former President Donald Trump (played by Sebastian Stan) was meant to “examine these individuals and take them seriously as human beings.” And when it came to portraying Cohn, Strong had some ideas that, sadly, ended up on the cutting room floor.

Colbert asked Strong: “Was there more Roy Cohn that you did that we didn’t get to see?” After a brief hesitation, Strong answered: “Well, we did do — I don’t know if I should talk about this.” To which Colbert replied: “You definitely should talk about it now.” Here was Strong’s response:

Roy lived over on 68th Street, and he had a room full of stuffed frogs and frog figurines. He was a conundrum. He was a very, very vicious, despicable person in a lot of ways, by many considered one of the worst humans of the 20th century. And he was also a kind of arrested — he was sort of like a demonic Peter Pan who never grew up. So, we did shoot a scene. I asked the costume designer to go find a full-body frog suit. And I was in my bedroom with Donald, and I sang the entirety of the George Hearn song “I Am What I Am” from La Cage Aux Folles in a frog suit. But it’s not in the movie. But I think it should be.

Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice hits theaters on October 11. #ReleaseTheFrogCut

Watch the video above via The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on YouTube.