Oh, the Romanity.
Even if Succession can’t last forever, who else wishes the parade of Roman-Royisms could go on in perpetuity? Kieran Culkin brings such poetry to lines like “We do roller coasters and hate speech” and “Hey, hey, motherf–kers!”
Which is why, even though he was originally called in to read for the part of Cousin Greg, who endearingly stumbles over every word, Kieran requested a tryout for Roman, who—at least in the beginning—is all talk.
“I liked his voice, and I really clicked with it,” the two-time Emmy nominee recalled on the Los Angeles Times podcast The Envelope in February. “Pretty much every syllable was like, I completely understand who this guy is, and that almost never happens. But I cannot tell you exactly what that is.”
His personal connection to the wry, wounded Roman aside (“I’m still trying to find a therapist,” he cracked), when he got the call he was ready, having stealthily honed his acting chops for years on parts that required a certain jaded but sensitive, sarcastic but intelligent affect with a dash of nervous energy.