Writing
At 25, in the hopes of being the lead actor in his own film, Strong wrote a dark comedy about two men who kill an elderly man for his rent-controlled apartment. The film never materialized, but it sparked his desire to become a full-time writer. His first successful script was Recount, a film about the 2000 US elections, produced by HBO and directed by Jay Roach. The film starred Kevin Spacey, Laura Dern, Denis Leary, John Hurt and Tom Wilkinson and premiered on May 25, 2008. The script was voted number one on the 2007 Hollywood Black List, a list of the "most liked" but unproduced scripts as voted on by the Hollywood community and insiders. Strong was nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special for Recount. The film was nominated for Best Television Miniseries or Film at the 66th Golden Globe Awards and won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie as well as the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay for a Television movie.
Strong followed up Recount with the 2012 film adaptation of Game Change, based on the book written by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. The film starred Julianne Moore and aired on HBO on March 10, 2012. In 2012, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special for Game Change. The film was also awarded a Peabody Award, which recognizes distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals.
In February 2012, he was hired to write the screenplay for the film adaptation of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, whose production has been stalled since 2013.
Strong wrote the screenplay for the film The Butler. Oprah Winfrey and Forest Whitaker starred in the film and it was directed by Lee Daniels. The script was voted onto the 2010 Hollywood Black List. It was released in August 2013 and grossed over $100 million in the US box office. Strong had a cameo in the film.
In December 2013, Strong signed on to pen the new screenplay for the film adaptation of the musical Guys and Dolls, which originally premiered on Broadway in 1950. Strong co-created the TV series Empire with Lee Daniels in 2014, for which he wrote and directed multiple episodes. Strong co-wrote the two-part Mockingjay, the finale of The Hunger Games series. Part 1 was released on November 21, 2014, and Part 2 was released on November 20, 2015.
Strong created Dopesick, a Hulu exclusive miniseries in October 2021 that explores the Sackler family, and Purdue Pharma's role in the opioid epidemic in the United States. The series was influenced by Beth Macy's book by the same name and starred Michael Keaton, who earned a SAG award for his performance. The critically acclaimed show was nominated for 14 Emmy Awards and won the Peabody Award along with many other awards and honors.
Strong wrote the book for the rock musical Galileo; it premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2024, and will open on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre in December 2026. Strong also wrote the book for the 2025 Broadway revival of Chess in early 2025, after having written an earlier book for a 2018 Kennedy Center production of Chess directed by Michael Mayer, who later directed the Broadway revival. Previews of the Broadway revival of Chess begin on October 15, with opening night slated for November 16.
