The Fall of the House of Usher’s Frank Langella Breaks Silence on Firing: “I Have Been Cancelled”

Last month, it was reported that Frank Langella was fired from Mike Flanagan’s upcoming Netflix series The Fall of the House of Usher after an investigation revealed he was “involved in unacceptable conduct on set.” The show was deep into filming when production halted, and the role of Roderick Usher was eventually recast. When Deadline originally broke the news of Langella’s misconduct, they reached out to the actor for comment. The actor has since responded to the outlet in his own guest column in which he details his version of the events that took place on set. “I have been canceled. Just like that,” Langella wrote. “On April 14 of this year, I was fired by Netflix for what they determined to be unacceptable behavior on set.”

“On March 25 of this year, I was performing a love scene with the actress playing my young wife. Both of us were fully clothed. 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 coordinator. 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,” Langella wrote.

“Not long after, an investigation began. 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 coordinator 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. Toward the end of our conversation, she suggested that I not contact the young lady, the intimacy coordinator, or anyone else in the company. ‘We don’t want to risk retaliation,’ she said. When I mentioned that it was certainly not my intention to … she cut me off politely and said: ‘Intention is not our concern. Netflix deals only with impact.’”

“On April 13, the following item appeared on TMZ: ‘Frank Langella has been fired by Netflix for fondling a young actress between takes and she stormed off the set.’ That is demonstrably false. That is a total lie. The actress was mentioned by name. The same young woman who had accused me of ‘touching her leg’ on camera in the love scene. The next day the item was corrected to read: ‘Frank Langella has not been fired but is under investigation.’ In this version, the actress’s name was deleted.”

“That afternoon, I was fired. 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 ended the article with “This is not fair. This is not just. This is not American.” You can read the full Deadline post here.

Stay tuned for details on The Fall of the House of Usher.