Frank Langella believes his firing was unjust.
In a guest column at Deadline, the 84-year-old actor responded to allegations of “unacceptable behaviour” that led to his termination from the upcoming Netflix series “The Fall of the House of Usher”.
Langella was fired from the show following an investigation that cited sexual harassment of an actress on the set.
“I have been cancelled. Just like that,” the actor began his column. “In the increasing madness that currently pervades our industry, I could not have imagined that the words collateral damage would fall upon my shoulders.”
He continued, “On April 14 of this year, I was fired by Netflix for what they determined to be unacceptable behaviour on set. My first instinct was to blame. To lash out and seek vengeance. I interviewed crisis managers, tough connected lawyers, the professionally sympathetic at $800 per hour.”
The central incident in the story came on March 25, as Langella explained.
“I was performing a love scene with the actress playing my young wife. Both of us were fully clothed,” he wrote. “I was sitting on a couch, she was standing in front of me. The director called ‘cut.’ ‘He touched my leg,’ said the actress. ‘That was not in the blocking.’ She then turned and walked off the set, followed by the director and the intimacy co-ordinator. I attempted to follow but was asked to ‘Give her some space.’ I waited for approximately one hour, and was then told she was not returning to set and we were wrapped.”
The actor went on, “Approximately one week later, Human Resources asked to speak to me by phone. ‘Before the love scene began on March 25,’ said the questioner, ‘our intimacy co-ordinator suggested where you both should put your hands. It has been brought to our attention that you said, “This is absurd!”‘ ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘I did. And I still think so.’ It was a love scene on camera. Legislating the placement of hands, to my mind, is ludicrous. It undermines instinct and spontaneity.”
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Langella also said that other allegations against him included, “He told an off-colour joke,” “Sometimes he called me ‘baby’ or ‘honey,’” and, “He’d give me a hug or touch my shoulder.”
Writing about the firing itself, the actor said, “I was not given a hearing with Netflix. My request to meet one-on-one with the actress was denied. The directors and the producer stopped answering my emails and phone calls. Within 30 minutes of my firing, a letter went out to cast and crew and a full press release was sent immediately. My representatives and I were given no opportunity to comment or collaborate on the narrative.”
He added, “I cannot speak to the intentions of my accuser or Netflix, but the impact on me has been incalculable. I lost a thrilling part, the chance at future earnings and perhaps face a stretch of unemployment. Netflix terminated me after three months of work with only three weeks left to shoot, and I have as yet to be fully remunerated for my services. Most importantly, my reputation has been tarnished.”
Finally, Langella said, “These indignities are, to my mind, the real definition of unacceptable behaviour.”
