Kieran Culkin has revealed he was originally supposed to play a completely different character in HBO’s Succession.
The 39-year-old, who plays Roman Roy in the hit series, has admitted he initially auditioned for the part of cousin Greg.
But the actor didn’t think he was right for the role, which eventually went to Nicholas Braun.
During his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Kieran explained: “They wanted me to read for cousin Greg, which I just didn’t feel right for.”
“They asked me to read for Greg and I knew I was wrong, and normally in any other script, I would be like, ‘OK, I’m not right for the part. I’m going to close it, I’m not going to continue reading on.’
“But I just kind of liked the script, so I read on and I was like, ‘Oh, there’s this guy, whose first line is something I can’t say on your show.'”
“And I thought, ‘Well I kind of like this guy. I like the way he talks. I can do that.’
“I asked, ‘Can I audition for Roman?’ And the response back was ‘We’re not auditioning for that part yet.'”
“But I just sort of put myself on tape anyway and sent it in. I was like, ‘Here’s three scenes if you want to look at this.'”
Kieran, who is the younger brother of Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin, ended up landing the part, while Nicholas Braun was cast as cousin Greg.
The comedy-drama, which was recently renewed for a fourth season, has won multiple awards since it premiered in June 2018.
The series follows the dysfunctional Roy family, owners of media conglomerate Waystar RoyCo, who are fighting for control of the company amid uncertainty about the health of the family’s patriarch, Logan Roy.
Succession stars Brian Cox as Logan Roy, whose children are played by Jeremy Strong (Kendall), Kieran Culkin (Roman), Sarah Snook (Siobhan), and Alan Ruck (Connor).
The cast also includes Matthew Macfadyen as Siobhan’s husband Tom Wambsgans, Nicholas Braun as Greg Hirsch (Logan’s grandnephew), and Hiam Abbass as Logan’s wife Marcia Roy.
