Hollywood: Kieran, Alan open up on their roles in Succession

While Kieran plays Logan’s cocky son Roman Roy, Alan plays the role of Conor, Logan’s oldest son from his first marriage, who is completely uninterested in the politics of Roy’s media conglomerate.

Ask what appealed to them in playing their respective characters, Alan said, “I was attracted to this part because he’s so damaged. He’s damaged goods. We actually figured out as we were going along that he suffers from delusional disorder. He’s clearly got really big political ambitions, which is not schizophrenic, but it is delusional.” Kieran said, “For me, the fun of playing this role, to be honest, is that this guy just says and does whatever he wants. In real life you suffer consequences if you piss people off, but he has never had to deal with any consequences.” How would you define the show —is it a drama, or a comedy? “It’s essentially a family drama, is what it is, but we had Adam McKay direct the pilot, and he and Jesse are cut from the same cloth and are always looking for like the dark humor in everything,” said Alan. “Halfway through shooting season, Jeremy said something to me, I’m not sure about the tone anymore - I’m worried this might be a comedy. I was like, I thought it was a comedy. That’s what I thought we were doing here.” Kieran joins him.

Nobody in the show is very likeable, are they? “Yeah, it’s funny, like, because even like the characters who are awful, I can’t help but like. Like Greg, who smokes pots, vomits through the eyeholes of his costume, and then lies to his mother about it. -I still can’t help but just like the guy,” Kieran laughs.