Succession Cast: Top Actors and Actresses Behind the HBO TV Series

Quick Facts

When the satirical drama show Succession premiered with its first season on April 27, 2018, it garnered instant positive reviews from fans, critics and movie aggregator sites. Even more impressive is the Succession cast which boasts of some seasoned actors. The show follows the Roy family whose patriarch is dying but has not found the best heir among his 4 children who will take over the company and grow it well in his absence and not destroy it. To further worsen matters, all of the four children are suddenly interested in being at the helm of affairs in the company which further drives a wedge between them and their father as well as his third and favorite wife Marcy who he prefers to leave with the highest voting power in his absence.

Since the show’s run began in 2018, it has enjoyed good criticism even though media outlets concluded that its ratings are much lower than those of its lead-in, Westworld. The first season got an 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes whereas Metacritic gave it a score of 70/100. In all, both aggregator sites remarked that the show brought to fore the reality of power and dysfunction by a ferocious ensemble cast. To better make this clear, we have put together this list of the top actors and actresses behind the HBO TV series to help you understand the storyline.

Succession Cast: Top Actors and Actresses Behind the HBO TV Series

Brian Cox as Logan Roy

Brian Cox is a seasoned Emmy award-winning actor who first gained prominence at the Royal Shakespeare Company where he played the role of King Lear. His career kicked off proper after his study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1965. The Scottish actor whose role as the dark-hearted patriarch of the Roy family was well executed has had the pleasure of playing very diversified roles since his career took off. He has solidified his place as an actor of repute with multiple awards to show for his efforts including the 20th Bradford International Film Festival Lifetime Achievement in 2014.

Hiam Abbass as Marcia ‘Marcy’ Roy

Abbass is an Israeli Arab by birth and has had a not so easy sojourn to prominence in the world of movies. She was born into a Muslim family in Nazareth but was raised in Deir Hanna all in Israel. It is not certain when her career in acting began, but she currently wears many hats as an actress, director, producer, scriptwriter, author, and photographer. She has an extensive filmography with credits in movies dating back to 1989 and has won some awards for her works too.

Alan Ruck as Connor Roy

Alan Ruck who portrayed Connor Roy is a graduate of the University of Illinois after which he made a move to Chicago where his acting career began on Broadway before he further expanded to television and film. Among the many movies and shows he has worked on are Bad Boys (1983), Star Trek Generations (1994), Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), Captive State (2019), My Dinner with Hervé (2018) and more. Even though Ruck has an extensive filmography, he is yet to win an award for any of his works.

Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy

There is no doubt that the directors of Succession carefully selected Strong for the very defining role of Kendall Roy. His portrayal of the character was well-lauded especially because he has built a reputation for appearing in films that are based on real-life events. Strong has a decent filmography which includes films like The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) which is also based on a real-life event.

Kieran Culkin as Romulus ‘Roman’ Roy

Kieran Culkin may not be as popular as his older brother, of the Home Alone franchise, but he too started his acting career as a child actor alongside his brother in Home Alone in the 90s. Despite that and the several other smaller roles he played, he scored his breakthrough role in Igby Goes Down (2002) where his portrayal of Igby, the lead character scored him nominations for some major awards. He has kept busy ever since appearing in other movies such as Father of the Bride I & II, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, Scott Pilgrim vs the World amongst others. He is the only one on the Succession cast who began as a child actor.

Sarah Snook as Siobhan ‘Shiv’ Roy

Sarah Snook who portrayed the character of Shiv is young in the world of acting but has distinguished herself enough to have won the AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work in Predestination, a thriller film. She has starred in other works, but Succession seems to be her other major work besides the work that gave her the award. Her career timeline dates back to 2009.

Nicholas Braun as Greg Hirsch

Braun is an actor and a musician who although he has credits in a good number of movies including one where he co-starred with , is best known for his role as Greg in Succession. The actor who was born and bred in New York had his first foray in acting in a drama television film titled Walter and Henry (2001). Since then, he has expanded his portfolio with appearances on the big screen too especially in movies like Sky High (2005), How to Be Single (2016), Date and Switch (2014) and more.

Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans

Mathew Macfadyen is as popular as they come. He is a film and television actor as well as a voice-over actor whose excellent portrayal of Joe Miller’s character in Criminal Justice II won him the 2010 British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor. His more recent works before and after Succession include The Assistant (2019), The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018), The Current War (2017).

Natalie Gold as Rava Roy

Gold is one of the more unknown faces in the Succession cast. Although her career timeline covers works in film, television, stage productions and Broadway, not many know her. She is a graduate of Emerson College and is most known for her role as Julia Harwell on Rubicon; a TV show.

Peter Friedman as Frank Vernon

Friedman is an actor whose portfolio covers an extensive amount of stage works dotted with some film and television appearances over the years. The graduate of Hofstra University started making a name for himself on Broadway since 1972 with the remake of The Great God Brown amongst others like a remake of The Visit, Piaf and a host of others Off-Broadway. He made a move to television in the 90s and has credits in productions like Brooklyn Bridge, Ghost Whisperer, Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenét and the City of Boulder and more.

Others who appeared in recurring roles on the Succession cast for both the first and second seasons include Rob Yang as Lawrence Yee, Dagmara Domińczyk as Karolina, Arian Moayed as Stewy Hosseini, J. Smith-Cameron as Gerri Kellman, Justine Lupe as Willa, Mary Birdsong as Marianne Hirsch, Scott Nicholson as Colin and a host of others.

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