skip to main content

Succession's Kieran Culkin could've been cousin Greg

Kieran Culkin
Kieran Culkin

Succession star Kieran Culkin has revealed he was initially asked to audition for the part of cousin Greg in the hit HBO show.

The 39-year-old actor plays Roman Roy, the son of media titan Logan Roy, in the series about the feuding family.

The role of Greg, the outsider cousin, is played by Nicholas Braun.

Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Culkin said: "They wanted me to read for cousin Greg, which I just didn't feel right for.

"They asked me to read for Greg and I knew I was wrong, and normally in any other script, I would be like, 'OK, I'm not right for the part. I’m going to close it, I’m not going to continue reading on.’

Nicholas Braun plays cousin Greg

"But I just kind of liked the script, so I read on and I was like, ‘Oh, there’s this guy, whose first line is something I can’t say on your show.'"

He continued: "And I thought, ‘Well I kind of like this guy. I like the way he talks. I can do that.’

"I asked, ‘Can I audition for Roman?’ And the response back was ‘We’re not auditioning for that part yet’.

"But I just sort of put myself on tape anyway and sent it in. I was like, ‘Here’s three scenes if you want to look at this.'"

Culkin went on to land the part, while Braun was cast as Greg, and Culkin said Braun was "fantastic" in his role.

Succession returned to HBO and Sky Atlantic for a third season last month after extended delays because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The new episodes follow the aftermath of Roman’s brother Kendall’s explosive press conference, in which he made allegations about their father’s complicity in crimes and misconduct in the company’s cruise division.

Read Next