If you’re not already watching HBO’s Succession , then you’ve got a lot of explaining to do. For the rest of us, we’ve come to know it as one of the most riveting HBO dramas of the decade.
For all that we’ve come to learn about the Roy family , there’s a lot that remains unsaid. So to help shed a little light on the situation, here are 15 behind-the-scenes facts about Succession that fans didn’t know about.
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Sarah Snook and Hiam Abbass are friends in real life.
“We’re good friends,” Hiam told The Cut , “and I consider her a great actress and a great woman, but it’s really funny how our two characters have to be sneaking on each other.”
Alan Ruck almost missed his chance to be on the show.
Alan was on dad duty, attending his kids’ music class when he got the call to audition. After the boys had finished up, Alan realized he had seven missed calls and was told to get over to Adam Mckay’s house immediately.
Sarah Snook was sure that she wouldn’t get the part before/during her audition.
” I felt like, ‘Ah, there’s no way I’m gonna get this, so I’m not stressed’,” Sarah explained in an interview with GQ . “I really just was like, ‘Eh, this is out of my league. I’ll just come and do it and get out of here’.”
Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong have ties to the stage.
Brian spent the better part of the 1980s portraying William Shakespeare’s infamous ” King Lear ,” while Jeremy starred in a Broadway production of Robert Bolt’s “A Man for All Seasons.” This isn’t surprising, considering how much Succession resembles a Shakespearean tragedy.
Will Ferrell serves as an executive producer.
You might be surprised to see funnyman Will Ferrell’s name listed as an EP, but he and fellow producer Adam McKay go way back. In the past, Will and Adam have worked on several projects together — including Anchorman and Talladega Nights .
Believe it or not — this is Hiam Abbass’ first recurring TV role.
Hiam has starred in several films and indie projects over the years, but up until landing her role on Succession , she’d never ventured into the world of network TV. Keep in mind, mini-series don’t count.
Kieran Culkin is a former child star.
You might have already guessed it by the last name, but Kieran is the younger brother of Macaulay Culkin. The brothers both starred in the fabled Home Alone series, and Kieran played opposite the legendary Steve Martin in Father of the Bride .
‘Succession’ was inspired by real people and real events.
The Roy family draws inspiration from some of America’s most famous individuals and wealthy families. The list includes the likes of Walt Disney , the Redstone and Murdoch families, as well as William Randolph Hearst.
A considerable portion of the dialogue is ad-libbed.
Usually how a scene will work is that the actors will follow what’s on the page until everyone on set is satisfied. Once that’s in the can, the actors are instructed to perform the scene again, ad-libbing where they see fit.
Kieran Culkin was originally supposed to play Greg.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter , Kieran talked about how he just didn’t ” click ” with the character of Greg. Still, he was enticed enough to keep on reading, which eventually lead him to discover Roman.
Sarah Snook comes from a land Down Under.
You’d never be able to tell, considering Sarah’s mastery of American dialects, but she is indeed originally from Australia. Her Aussie accent is subdued, but 100% noticeable whenever she does press junkets/interviews.
Brian Cox hasn’t seen a single episode.
I’m sure that Brian has seen bits and pieces, but as a rule , he tends to not watch his own performances after they’ve been completed. According to Brian, he finds the ordeal of watching himself on-screen to be wildly depressing.
Kieran Culkin was the only cast member to receive a Golden Globe nomination in Season 1.
Since then, Kieran has gone on to be nominated for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role on Television” three times over. He’s yet to bring home the gold, but fingers crossed that this year is his year!
According to his castmates, Nicholas Braun and cousin Greg are one and the same.
The cast of Succession was asked to name which actors were most like their character counterparts. Without a moment’s hesitation, almost everyone agreed that the answer was Nicholas Braun. Brian Cox admitted that he can’t distinguish one from the other.
Logan Roy was originally supposed to die.
Brian Cox explained during an interview with The Guardian that “Originally, I was supposed to die at the end of the first series. But I think they realized that Logan is the centrifugal force of the piece.”
