Kieran Culkinfeels very comfortable onSuccession,especially in season 2.
What I love doing is just going into a scene.
I dont even really prepare anymore.
HBO
You just walk in a room and we just play.'
But season 2 hasnt been all bad news for Roman.
He also struck upa weird and twisted not-romance with Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron), Waystars general counsel.
Peter Kramer/HBO
Actually, my first scene that I shot for season 1 was with her.
We kind of just have a really fun rapport.
We just did that like the whole season until like the end, apparently.
Peter Kramer/HBO
What did you make of the now-infamous scene from Tern Haven?
Were you surprised by the direction they took it in?
[Laughs] It was kind of what I was hoping.
So, it couldnt just be a romance or something like that.
It has to be something a little off.
I liked that it went in that direction.
He goes, Were hoping itll lead this to a moment where this happens.
I said just said, Perfect.
Thats just where I was hoping it would go.
What was it like to actually shoot that moment?It was great.
Was this more rolling your eyes at [him]?
Does she like it?
Whats so funny is that you would never be able to tell that.
In the room, I just thought it was going perfectly well and I thought she was great.
To me, I understand fully what Roman does.
Hes very dysfunction but nothing is wholly anything.
So, it gives me a lot of freedom when I work on the show.
I think he actually means, Lets get married, but also, Lets just totally not.
Thats just the way he thinks.
So, its fun to pop in, explore that, play with it, and turn it off.
The one thing with him that was proving to be a little difficult was Roman has absolutely no filter.
Thankfully, the writers, Jesse [Armstrong] in particular, will hear us out.
If I have a concern, I talk to him about it.
When I brought that up to him, I think small adjustments here and there may have been made.
Ive never had to fight for anything, and Ive hardly ever had to speak up and say something.
Then, it made sense.
I think I was a little wrong on that one, that he wasnt being too funny.
This was actually terror.
I do have a good amount of creative freedom, but I also dont even need that.
I dont know, there was something about being on set.
At the time we were shooting the first season, I had been acting for 29, 30 years.
We once shot a scene where I didnt even see the set.
They just said, rolling!
and I was going walk into a room.
Which scene was that?That was last season in New Mexico when I go to pick Kendall up.
Hes doing drugs with all of those guys that he met in New Mexico.
And you just walked in knowing nothing?Yeah, there were three other actors that I hadnt met.
We shot for like two hours, never met them, didnt talk to them at all.
I said, Fk yeah, lets do it.
I had no idea where he was sitting.
I feel like I mightve looked in the camera once because I mightve thought it was a person.
So I just started saying st.
Occasionally some of the scripted st would come out, and sometimes it wouldnt.
We did that like three times, then that was it.
Season 1 was very Kendall-focused.
Season 2 has been all about Shiv, especially with the new opening credits.
Did you hear this from Brian Cox?
And this is before I knew where it was going.
I said, So, maybe next year is Romans turn.
He goes, Oh, thats very interesting, very interesting.
I was like, You son of a bitch.
And people were like, Thats really interesting.
I have an idea, but Im not quite sure how its gonna be executed.
Successionairs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.
