From left: Kieran Culkin, Nicholas Braun and Matthew Macfadyen.Photo:getty (3)
getty (3)
It was the slap heard a whole room away.
“I was there. I was watching in the monitor, which was probably a whole room away and I could hear that slap,” Culkin, 41, said.
Braun, 35, for his part, joked about why he put so much energy into smacking Macfadyen, 49.
“You only get one chance to slap an actor, and you don’t know if there’s going to be another take,” he said, before joking, “Luckily there were four, so I kept getting to give it to you.”
Matthew Macfadyen and Nicholas Braun on ‘Succession’.David Russell/HBO
David Russell/HBO
Preparing for that scene involved the two actors going over the slap several times the day before and the day of — a ritual they practiced for many of their scenes together, partly to avoid giggling while filming.
“You don’t want it to get old, but we don’t want to laugh,” Braun added. “We just want to get through it.”
Not laughing during scenes, apparently, was such a challenge for Braun and Macfadyen — who played cousin Greg Hirsch and Tom Wambsgans on the series, respectively — thatSuccessioncreatorJesse Armstrongsaid the crew would schedule two additional hours into the shooting schedule if the stage directions called for the pair to “make eye contact” or indicated “their faces are close.”
“More film. Need more film,” quipped Braun.
Matthew Macfadyen and Nicholas Braun in ‘Succession’.Macall B. Polay/HBO
Macall B. Polay/HBO
During his Emmys acceptance speech, Macfadyen thanked hisSuccession"family," before giving a “special mention” to “my onscreen wife,Sarah Snook, and my other onscreen wife,Nicholas Braun.”
“Acting with you has been one of the most wonderful things in my career. Thank you, Nick. Thank you, Sarah. It’s been a joy,” he added, before concluding, “Thank you to my actual wife,Keeley, my love and my best friend for being here.”
Culkin also won aGolden Globe,Critics ChoiceandEmmy Awardfor his role as Roman Roy inSuccession, taking home each show’s awards for outstanding lead actor in a drama series.
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All four seasons ofSuccessioncan be streamed on Max.
source: people.com
