The Fall of the House of Usher: Frank Langella feels he was unjustly fired from the Netflix series

Three weeks ago, it was announced that Frank Langella (Masters of the Universe) had been fired from genre regular Mike Flanagan’s Edgar Allan Poe-inspired Netflix limited series The Fall of the House of Usher following an investigation into claims that he had been involved in unacceptable conduct on set. This conduct reportedly included making inappropriate comments to a female co-star. Last week, we learned that Bruce Greenwood (Gerald’s Game) will be replacing Langella in the role of Roderick Usher, “the towering patriarch of the Usher dynasty”. All of Langella’s footage has been scrapped and all of the Roderick Usher scenes are being reshot with Greenwood. Now Langella has written in to Deadline to share his side of the story. Langella’s entire statement can be read at THIS LINK, but an excerpt can be seen below.

Denying that there had been any unacceptable conduct on his part, Langella said,

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.

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.”

When you are the leading actor, it requires, in my opinion, that you set an example by keeping the atmosphere light and friendly. Nevertheless, these were some of the allegations: 1. “He told an off-color joke. 2. “Sometimes he called me ‘baby’ or ‘honey.’” 3. “He’d give me a hug or touch my shoulder.”

“You cannot do that, Frank,” said our producer. “You can’t joke. You can’t compliment. You can’t touch. It’s a new order.”

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.

I cannot speak to the intentions of my accuser or Netflix, but the impact on me has been incalculable.

Also in the statement, Langella mourns that fact that he lost a “glorious” and “thrilling” role due to these accusations. A role he had come to regard as “most likely, my last hurrah”. He says he was fired after three months of work, with only three weeks left to shoot. He has yet to be fully remunerated for his services, and his reputation has been tarnished.

Here’s the set-up for Poe’s story The Fall of the House of Usher:

Roderick Usher and his sister Madeline are the only two surviving members of the aristocratic Usher family. For many years, they have lived together in the ancient mansion which is their ancestral family home. Madeline Usher has been ill for a long time and is not expected to live much longer. Partly due to his sister’s illness and partly, he believes, due to the negative influence of the old mansion in which he lives, Roderick Usher has fallen into a deep melancholy. To help recover his spirits, he summons his old friend, the story’s unnamed narrator, to come visit him. 

This limited series isn’t solely based on that story, though. Just like Flanagan and his writers drew inspiration from multiple different Henry James stories when crafting The Haunting of Bly Manor, they’re mixing elements of multiple different Poe stories for this show.

The cast of The Fall of the House of Usher includes Kate Siegel (Hush), Rahul Kohli (Midnight Mass), Mark Hamill (Star Wars), Carla Gugino (The Haunting of Hill House), Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica), Carl Lumbly (Doctor Sleep), Henry Thomas (The Haunting of Bly Manor), Samantha Sloyan (Grey’s Anatomy), T’Nia Miller (Years and Years), Sauriyan Sapkota (The Midnight Club), Zach Gilford (Friday Night Lights), Katie Parker (Absentia), Michael Trucco (How I Met Your Mother), Malcolm Goodwin (iZombie), Crystal Balint (A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting), Kyleigh Curran (Secrets of Sulphur Springs), Paola Nuñez (Bad Boys for Life), Aya Furukawa (The Cabin in the Woods), Matt Biedel (Narcos: Mexico), Daniel Jun (The Expanse), Ruth Codd (The Midnight Club), Robert Longstreet (Halloween Kills), Annabeth Gish (Before I Wake), Willa Fitzgerald (Scream: The TV Series), and Igby Rigney (F9).

Coming to us from Netflix and Flanagan’s production company Intrepid Pictures, The Fall of the House of Usher will consist of eight episodes. Flanagan will be directing four of those episodes, and the other four will be directed by Michael Fimognari, who was Flanagan’s cinematographer on Oculus, Before I Wake, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep, and the Flanagan / Netflix shows The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass.

Flanagan and Fimognari are executive producing The Fall of the House of Usher with Trevor Macy and Emmy Grinwis. Flanagan has said that this show is going to be “blood-soaked and wild”.

What do you think about Langella’s side of the story? Let us know by leaving a comment below.