The Emmy-winning director praised the flame-haired singer for doing a “lovely job” when he made an appearance in the HBO show after the cameo received heavy criticism.
He said: “He comes with no entourage. There’s nothing connected with him that’s in the least bit self-aware or self-conscious … I think Ed did a lovely job – he’s a lovely actor and a lovely person. He was appropriate for the part because he needed to sing. If people didn’t know who Ed was, they wouldn’t have thought about it twice. The hoo-ha seems to be from things that are outside of the world of the show. In the world of the show he did a lovely job, and he looks like he belongs in that world.
“I think people interrogated it too much, they’re bringing so much of his [superstar] presence into the thing which is far beyond what anybody was thinking going into it. He is known to the producers of the show and some of the cast, and he’s a gigantic fan of the show. As everybody knows, the show really eschews stunt casting – it’s never, ever done that.”
And Jeremy was “quite surprised” by the negative reaction to the part and hopes it hasn’t upset Ed.
He added to Newsweek: “I was quite surprised about the reaction actually because I know he’s very well known and a successful singer but you’re in the bubble of the show – the cast are well known too, everybody is really well known … none of them can walk down the street without being followed. You don’t think about that very much in this context …
“The only thing I don’t feel great about is that Ed is such a lovely guy and really genuine and down to earth. He came into this with only lovely intentions to come and do a good job and sing well. So I think that’s the only drag.”
