Succession fans know Jeremy Strong as Kendall Roy, but they might not know that the 42-year-old actor nearly portrayed a different character on the popular HBO series.
Earlier this month, Strong sat down for an interview with The New Yorker and revealed that he originally auditioned to play Kendall’s younger brother, Roman. It all started when executive producer Adam McKay approached him with the Succession script and said, “Tell me what role you connect with.”
Strong immediately felt connected to Roman: “I thought, ‘Oh, wow, Roman is such a cool part. He’s, like, this bon-vivant prick. I could do something that I hadn’t done before.’”
Unfortunately, Strong didn’t get the part—Kiernan Culkin did. However, series creator Jesse Armstrong still agreed to let him audition for the role of Kendall. “I’ve always felt like an outsider with a fire in my belly,” Strong said. “And so, the disappointment and the feeling of being thwarted—it only sharpened my need and hunger. I went in with a vengeance.”