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Jun 22, 2023

‘Succession’ Actors Needed This Skill, According to Casting Director

The acclaimed HBO series received multiple Primetime Emmy Awards nominations for its final season. A few months have passed since Succession ended on HBO , bringing the story of the power-hungry Roys

The acclaimed HBO series received multiple Primetime Emmy Awards nominations for its final season.

A few months have passed since Succession ended on HBO, bringing the story of the power-hungry Roys to an end. Over the course of five years, the children of Logan Roy (Brian Cox) fought each other to determine who would inherit the leadership of one of the biggest media conglomerates in the world. And, while the result wasn't the one they could've predicted, their story turned out to be one of the most successful shows HBO has seen in its history.

Casting director Avy Kaufman's work on the series was vital to all the accolades it has received, with plenty of Succession's accomplishments at the Primetime Emmy Awards have arrived thanks to the performances from its stellar cast. While this year's ceremony has been delayed due to the ongoing dual strike organized by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, there's no doubt that the show has plenty of chances to continue its historical run through the awards ceremony when it's eventually allowed to be held. The Roys have always been ambitious, and that remains true for their awards show history.

During a recent interview with Collider's Perri Nemiroff, Kaufman talked about the complex process of selecting the right actors for the parts:

"This one scene when they’re fighting over the tally and everybody has to own that tally. [Kieran Culkin] has to own it, Matthew [Macfadyen] has to own it, Jeremy [Strong]’s gotta own it. No, if the numbers are gonna move, and then Adam Godley is standing there and you know what? He’s not a large man and so how do you find a voice that’s gonna be as powerful, not being a family member, not being like a dictator, how are you gonna find that voice to go, “No, I’ve got to give the tally?” And then he cracks up with the wasabi in his eye, and then you hear how he’s cussing to himself and he’s trying to get it out. He created that world. I mean, yes, of course, a director and everybody around him, but that was one."

The same with Annabeth Gish with Kieran. That killed me when Kieran walks in to go, “We’re gonna give you this great job. You’re gonna do this, you’re gonna do that, you’re gonna do this and that,” and then all of a sudden, she’s not quite following what he thinks he should be getting from her. We’ve all been there, but he fires her on the spot. It was so honest, her reaction. So honesty in an actor – acting is really hard. Acting is so hard.

Ever since Logan Roy unexpectedly passed away during the first half of the final season, Kendall (Strong), Roman (Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook) had been trying to come up with a solid strategy to take their father's position away from each other. Their struggle for power eventually allowed Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) to gain the advantage and threaten to kick the Roys out of their own company. But due to the political landscape in the context of the corporate transition, Matsson knew he had to put an American executive at the front of Waystar, allowing Tom Wambsgans (Macfadyen) to sit on the throne.

You can check out Collider's interview with Kaufman below:

Diego Peralta is a Senior News Writer and a Features Writer for Collider. He has also written for several other outlets, including BuzzFeed News. When he's not watching 'The Last Jedi' again, he's looking for the best burger in town and the next movie that will become a fixation for him.