“I was too old”: Succession Nearly Made a Huge Blunder With Kieran Culkin’s Casting
- Kieran Culkin was offered to play the role of Cousin Greg in Succession.
- The actor just knew that Cousin Greg was not the character he was meant to play but it was Roman Roy.
- Kieran Culkin shared his views on the ending arc of Roman Roy.
Actor Kieran Culkin recently starred as a free-spirited guy, Benjamin ‘Benji’ Kaplan, in Jesse Eisenberg’s comedy-drama movie A Real Pain. He was highly praised for his work, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination. The actor had started his career at a very young age, starring alongside his older brother Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone.
However, he is widely known for portraying Roman Roy in HBO’s successful and popular show Succession from 2018 to 2023 alongside Jeremy Strong, Brian Cox, Sarah Snook, and more. In an interview, he detailed how he read for another character on the show but was switched it.
Kieran Culkin could have played Cousin Greg instead of Roman Roy on Succession
In an interview with The Guardian, actor Kieran Culkin acknowledged that initially, he had read for the part of Cousin Greg, which was eventually played by Nicholas Braun. He went on to share how the makers thought to switch the characters. He said,
It even said, ‘Greg 26’ on the script, and I was 35 at the time. I was too old and could tell in my belly straight away that I wasn’t right for that part. But I liked the script enough to read on, and when Roman walked in, his first line was, ‘Hey, hey, mother***kers.’
Culkin added that the way his character spoke looked very fun to him, but the makers were not auditioning for his part. But he was so impressed with the character that he picked three scenes, put himself on tape, and sent it anyway. The creator, Jesse Armstrong, watched his audition and finalized him for playing Roman Roy on the show.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, the actor reflected on the success of the show and how it became a landmark work for everyone involved in it. He said, Where did everyone put so much hard work, especially the last two seasons? When asked if he is drawn to projects that center around dysfunctional families, he said,
I have never been able to figure out why I’m drawn to something. I could tell you very specifically why I don’t want to do something, but this I just read and felt like I understood it right away. I also don’t like to analyze.
While speaking to NPR, the actor acknowledged working with Brian Cox as a piece of cake. He added that the legendary actor is a force to be reckoned with as a person, so he just brings in so much to a scene that Culkin does not have to make too much effort.
He noted that there are incredibly talented actors on the show and a lot of them work really hard, and he just feels grateful to be able to witness their approaches.
Kieran Culkin talks about Roman Roy’s ending arc on Succession
The audience wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the show and especially to Roman Roy, who had become one of the fan-favorite characters over the years. Kieran Culkin spoke to Variety about his character’s ending on the show, noting that none of the siblings were in a particularly good place at the end. He said,
Jesse Armstrong has said that he thinks it’s more of like, ‘Roman has gone back to where he was at the beginning.’ What’s really sad about that was all of this was for nothing. It’s been a waste of his time. Like, what’s the point? What did he learn? What did he gain?
Kieran Culkin called the creator of the show Jesse Armstrong’s interpretation cool but added that he had his idea. He mentioned people inevitably do grow when they go through experiences. Culkin shared that according to him, Roman Roy has evolved as a person, and it’s not like he didn’t gain anything from everything he went through.
The actor noted that as far as he understands his character, he might have taken something away with it. He said that Roman Roy needs his family, and towards the end, when they are all out, he has nobody. But if there is a hope to reconnect, Roman Roy would be up for it.
I love that there are different interpretations of it and different theories. I love that, because all these things can exist at once—that’s why I think it’s great that it ended where it did.
Kieran Culkin lastly added that the ending feels like an end, but there could be more. He also recalled that it was too bad that his former mentor Gerri did not join Roman for his last drink.
Succession is available to stream on HBO.
