Jesse Armstrong is the creator behind the satirical tragicomedy, Succession. This family saga TV series centres around the Roy Family, which owns Waystar Royco, a global media and entertainment conglomerate. Throughout the series, there is a constant power struggle between different members of the family and a looming uncertainty about the slowly deteriorating health of Logan Roy, the family’s patriarch and the CEO of the company. The political weight of the events that transpire seems to cause irreparable familial division. Let’s look at some of HBO’s Succession TV series characters and the amazing cast that brings them to life.
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1. Logan Roy – Brian Cox
Logan Roy is the founder and CEO of the media conglomerate Waystar Royco. He grew up in Canada, and shortly after moving to the United States, he married and had his first son Connor, who is estranged from the family. After their divorce, he went on to marry Caroline Collingwood, a British aristocrat with whom he had three more children: Logan, Roman and Siobhan. When they divorced, Logan moved on to Marcia.
Logan has a stroke during a fight between him and his children on his 80th birthday. The Roy children immediately begin planning for what will happen when their father is no longer with them and discuss who will take over from him as CEO. Unfortunately for their plans, Logan wakes up from his coma and returns to his position as CEO despite not fully recovering from his stroke.
Before being cast as Logan Roy in Succession, Brian Cox was the first actor to portray the cannibal Hannibal Lecter, which he did in the film Manhunter. He has had many notable roles throughout his career. Cox played Argyle Wallace alongside Mel Gibson in Braveheart, guest starred as Harry Moon in the sitcom Frasier and played the corrupt CIA official Ward Abbott in The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy. He also played Richard Morgan in the horror film The Ring and John Landon in the sci-fi film Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
2. Marcia Roy – Hiam Abbass
Marcia Roy is Logan’s third and current wife. She is fiercely loyal and utterly devoted to her husband. She has been married and has a son (played by Darius Hamayoun) and a daughter from the previous relationship. Still, otherwise, most of her history is shrouded in mystery to the audience and character.
She does what she can to soften or repair any cracks in the relationship between Logan and his husband but is often at odds with his children. His youngest and only daughter, Shiv Roy, doesn’t trust her father’s wife.
Before being cast as Marcia Roy in Succession, Hiam Abbass acted in several films and even directed a couple. In Munich, she played Marie Claude Hamshari and was also used as a consultant and dialogue coach for the film. She has had the opportunity to play Intesser in A Bottle in the Gaza Sea, Freysa in Blade Runner 2049 and Serena Menaker in Hellraiser,
3. Greg Hirsch – Nicholas Braun
Greg Hirsch is the great-nephew of Logan Roy and is often referred to as “Cousin Greg”. His mother, Marianne Hirsch (played by Mary Birdsong), is the daughter of Logan’s estranged brother Ewan Roy (played by James Cromwell) and raised him in Canada. After he gets fired from his job as a theme park mascot because he threw up through the eyeholes of the costume, his mother tells him to ask his great-uncle for a job.
When he arrives, Logan eventually gives him a job, but unfortunately for him, there are no witnesses to the exchange before Logan has a stroke. Following his mother’s advice, he finds his way into Shiv’s good books and her fiancé, Tom Wambsgans, tells him that he will look after Grey at Waystar. He becomes his Executive Assistant, but unfortunately for Greg, Tom is not pleasant.
Of all the characters in Succession, he is the sweetest and completely naïve to the difficult terrain of family politics he has to trek through to reach Logan. Still, he is incredibly opportunistic, and with his mother guiding him, he can do almost anything.
Before being cast as Greg Hirsch in Succession, Nicholas Braun had been in several movies over the years, and many of them have been Disney films, including Minutemen, Princess Protection Program and Prom. He also played Zach in Sky High and Billy Ray in Red State. In addition, he co-starred alongside Dakota Johnson in Date and Switch and How to be Single.
4. Roman Roy – Kieran Culkin
Roman Roy is the youngest son of Logan. He is a board member in his father’s company and oozes the bravado and cockiness that his father expects from his executives. Still, due to his immaturity and inability to focus, Logan has withheld him from advancing further through the company. His father eventually grants him the position of COO after firing his previous COO, Frank Vernon, to make room for Roman.
Roman bends easily to his father’s wishes and is shown to be unthinkingly reckless on several occasions. He is easily one of the most fun characters in Succession.
Kieran Culkin has had several more minor roles over the years. He played Fuller McCallister in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Matty Banks in Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride Part II and Simon Boggs in She’s All That. He also played Wallace Wells in Scott Pilgrim vs the World and Jason “Igby” Slocumb, Jr.
5. Frank Vernon – Peter Friedman
Francis “Frank” Vernon is the former COO, Vice-Chairman of Waystar Royco and a longtime confidant of Logan’s. Thirty years before the events of Succession, he had arrived to give Logan legal advice and never managed to get out the door. The two of them had been friends ever since.
He is offered the position of CEO after Logan suffers from a stroke but declines the offer. Feeling betrayed by Logan’s choices, he starts working with his second oldest son, Kendall, to try and overtake the company from him, but their plan fails, and as a result, Frank is fired, though he does get his job back a little bit later.
Peter Friedman started on Broadway before eventually making his way into the film industry. He made several guest appearances in a couple of shows, including NYPD Blue, Ghost Whisperer and Without a Trace and once played the role of the defence lawyer Harold Jensen in Law & Order. He would also later appear in the HBO series High Maintenance.
6. Rava Roy – Natalie Gold
Rava Roy is the estranged wife of Kendall Roy. Though she still cares for her husband, she has chosen to remain separated due to his drug problems. She is the primary caretaker of their two children, Iverson Roy (played by Quentin Morales) and Sophie Roy (played by Swayam Bhatia).
She continues to comfort her husband when he’s having a difficult time, but she always declines his offers to get back together and gently reminds him to get his lawyers to file for divorce. For her, the children will always come first.
Natalie Gold is best known for her role as Julia Harwell on Rubicon and has appeared in several films, including, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007), Love & Other Drugs (2010), and I Don’t Know How She Does It (2011). In addition, Gold has played minor roles in shows like Law & Order: Criminal Intent and New Amsterdam and a couple of bigger roles, such as when she played Dr Lyla Belshaw in The Walking Dead: World Beyond.
7. Tom Wambsgans – Matthew Macfadyen
Tom Wambsgans is Shiv Roy’s fiancé and later husband. He is enamoured with the power and prestige of the Roy family and is always trying to be accepted by them. However, he does occasionally end up humiliating himself in the process. For example, when he and Greg start working together at the family business, Tom constantly gives him a hard time and tries to make his life difficult.
Matthew Macfayden is best known for his role as Mr Darcy in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice alongside Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Bennet. He also played Daniel Howells in Death as a Funeral, the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood (2010) and Randolph Churchill in Churchill’s Secret.
8. Connor Roy – Alan Ruck
Connor Roy is Logan’s eldest son. Rather than participate in the politics of his father’s company, he lives his own life on his ranch, away from the drama. However, no family member approves of his girlfriend, Willa Ferreyra (played by Justine Lupe).
Before being cast as Connor Roy in Succession, Alan Ruck was best known for playing Cameron Frye, the best friend of Ferris Bueller in the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and the power-hungry member of the mayoral staff in Spin City, Stuart Bondek. In The Exorcist, he starred alongside Geena Davis. He also played Stephen Burgess in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser and has featured in an episode or two of Psych.
9. Siobhan “Shiv” Roy – Sarah Snook
Shiv Roy is the youngest child and only daughter of Logan Roy. She is a natural-born leader and would be perfect for running Logan’s company. Still, she prefers using her talents in politics, so instead, she holds the title of President of Domestic Operations at Waystar Royco. She started as a political consultant for Joyce Miller but later began working for Gil Eavis (played by Eric Bogosian).
Her father later informs her that he wants her to run the company when he dies, and she agrees, the two choosing not to disclose this information to anyone else.
Before being cast as Shiv Roy in Succession, Sarah Snook has starred in several films over the years, including Jessabelle (2014), Not Suitable for Children (2012) and Predestination (2014). In addition, she played Andrea “Andy” Cunningham in Steve Jobs, Sal Thornhill in The Secret River and Anna in The Beautiful Lie.
10. Kendall Roy – Jeremy Strong
Kendall is Logan’s second eldest son, one of the most important though he claims to be the oldest of the Roy siblings. He is ready to take over his father’s company as soon as Logan announces his retirement on his 80th birthday, but, unfortunately for Kendall, his father has other plans. As a result, Logan does not entirely trust his son.
Kendall has a bad drug problem that often leads him to make poor decisions and gets him in trouble with his father. He is estranged from his wife and two children because of it. Kendall shows that he is willing to do anything to take over the company he believes is meant to be his, even strike a deal with someone to buy all the company shares and completely screw over the rest of his family. Fortunately for the rest of the Roy family, this plan fails.
During the PGM takeover, he and Naomi Pierce (played by Annabelle Dexter-Jones) bonded over their shared drug addiction. He eventually manages to convince her to let his father buy the company by reminding her that a portion of the money would end up going to her, which means that she could escape her family and her past.
Jeremy Strong studied acting when he was younger and eventually made his Broadway debut in late 2008 with A Man for All Seasons. He has since starred in films like Zero Dark Thirty, in which he played a CIA analyst named Thomas; The Trail of the Chicago 7, in which he did a brilliant job portraying Jerry Rubin. He even acted in The Gentlemen, in which he played Matthew Berger, though he usually chooses not to speak about the film on record.
11. Lawrence Yee – Rob Yang
Lawrence Yee, one of the recurring characters in Succession, is the founder and CEO of Vaulter, a company that works with Waystar Royco. He remains neutral during the Vote o No Confidence against Logan Roy and is later kicked out of the company after Logan’s sons discover some compromising information about Vaulter.
Rob Yang has appeared in several films and TV series over the years, including Living with Yourself (2019), Twisted (2013) and The Americans (2016). He also played a minor role in The Bourne Legacy, Law & Order, Gossip Girl and Suits.
12. Karolina Novotney – Dagmara Domińczyk
Karolina Novotney, one of the recurring characters in Succession, is a legal team member at Waystar Royco and the Head of PR. She assists with damage control after Logan’s stroke and is the one who indirectly motivates him to attend the Charity Ball and tell the world that he is not stepping down as the CEO anytime soon.
She helps arrange the family getaway at Connor’s ranch and works PR there.
Dagmara Domińczyk made her acting debut on Broadway. In the following year, she made her film debut as Claire in Keeping the Faith and in 2002, she played Mercédès Mondego in The Count of Monte Cristo. In The Immigrant, she played Belva alongside Jeremy Renner, Joaquin Phoenix and Marion Cotillard. She even had a minor role in the pilot episode of Suits.
13. Stewy Hosseini – Arian Moayed
Stewy Hosseini is an old friend of Kendall’s and the one who got him into cocaine. He bought a lot of stock from Waystar Royco at Kendall’s request to keep the company out of debt and is one of the people on the board who manage to convince Logan to go on a weekend-long family therapy session (which doesn’t go too well).
Arian Moayed has played Todd Spodek in Netflix’s Inventing Anna and Agent P. Clearly in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Ms Marvel. He is also responsible for portraying Mohammed “Mo” Alwash in Madam Secretary.
14. Gerri Kellman – J. Smith-Cameron
Gerri Kellman, one of the recurring characters in Succession, briefly takes on the role of CEO of Waystar Royco and serves as General Counsel for the company. She was the one who informed Kendall that the company was in severe debt and that the bank could take over the company if its stocks dropped too far.
She sides with Logan during the Vote Of No Confidence and handles a lot of business for the family when they cannot handle it themselves. She is later names as the fake successor of Logan until he officially appoints one.
J. Smith-Cameron, who joined the Succession cast in season 1, spent most of her life acting in theatre. Only later did she transition into movies and TV shows. She played Melinda Mickens in a couple of episodes of True Blood and Janet Talbot in a couple of episodes of Rectify.
15. Karl Muller – David Rasche
Karl Muller, one of the recurring characters in Succession, is the Chief Financial Officer and a legal team member at Waystar Royco. When interrogating his staff about a mole, Logan makes Karl stand in a corner after telling his wife about his apparent escapades.
David Rasche, who joined the Succession cast in season 1, is well known for playing characters in positions of power or authority. He played Sledge Hammer in the sitcom Sledge Hammer!, Robert Gardner in All My Children and Aiden Schmidt in Impastor. He also featured in L.A. Law, Veep, and The West Wing.
16. Hugo Baker – Fisher Stevens
Hugo Baker, one of the recurring characters in Succession, is an employee at Waystar Roy who currently carries the title of Senior Vice President of Communication for Parks and Cruises.
Fisher Stevens, who joined the Succession cast in season 2, is best known for his portrayal of Ben in Short Circuit and Short Circuit 2. In addition, he plays “The Plague” in Hackers, Sam Manning in Sam the Man, and Seamus O’Neill in several Key West episodes. He even plays one of Phoebe’s love interests in an episode of Friends.
It has been confirmed that the fourth season of Succession will be available on HBO max sometime in the Spring of 2023.
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