Brian Cox Reveals Which of His Succession Kids He’d Be OK Spending Christmas with — and Who Is a ‘Close Second’
“I have just watched him grow over the time, and I have such enormous respect for him,” Cox said of ‘Succession’ star Kieran Culkin
When it comes to his Succession kids, Brian Cox is picking favorites.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 78-year-old actor reflected on his career, including his leading role on Succession. The show, which ended in 2023 after four seasons, brought Cox close to his costars, and he revealed which of his on-screen children he would choose to spend every Christmas with.
“It would have to be Kieran Culkin [Roman Roy],” he said. “That boy has been through so much with his family situation. And he’s a consummate actor. He really is. And he showed it. He was so nervous when we started the show. I have just watched him grow over the time, and I have such enormous respect for him. He’s a very fine actor, he’s funny and he’s very sweet.”
He added: “Sarah Snook [Siobhan “Shiv” Roy] would be a close second.”
In March 2023, ahead of Succession’s series finale, Cox opened up to Entertainment Tonight about what he would miss the most about the show.
“It’s the cast,” he said. “I’ll miss the cast and the crew, the camera guys, we got great camera operators. We got to be we’ve got a couple of great DPs. So you know, it’s the whole shebang.”
At the same time, Cox said he was “more than ready” for the HBO hit to end after four seasons.
“In a good way, I’m happy it’s over,” he said. “I think we’ve, you know, got to the point where the show has reached its natural closure.”
Cox noted that “a lot of shows outstay their welcome, and I think our show is perfect, and neat, in the way it is.”
He also emphasized the way the show held a mirror up to society, saying: “I think it’s a brilliantly observant show of our time. Especially as the world is getting richer on one side [and] getting a hell of a lot poorer on the other side.”
The series came to a close with (spoiler alert!) Cox’s character, media tycoon Logan Roy, dying from heart failure on a private jet en route to broker a business deal in Sweden. After it aired, Cox admitted that reading that final script was no surprise.
“It’s about succession. You need a corpse,” he told Vulture, explaining that the show’s creator Jesse Armstrong told him about his character’s fate before they started filming season 4. “If it was a different kind of show, it could have gone into a more mysterious frame — Is Logan dead? That kind of stuff. But I think Jesse realized it had to be the way it had to be, and he made the decision to do that.”
Succession was a major success during its run. At the 2023 Emmy Awards, it garnered 27 nominations and six wins, including outstanding drama series, outstanding lead actor in a drama series for Culkin, outstanding lead actress in a drama series for Sarah Snook and outstanding supporting actor in a drama series for Matthew Macfadyen.
