Kieran Culkin on Why Roman’s Wife and Kid Disappeared From ‘Succession’: ‘They Were Toying With Roman’s Sexuality’

Ethan Shanfeld SPOILER ALERT: This recap contains spoilers for Season 4, Episode 7 of “Succession,” now streaming on HBO Max. The election looms over “Succession,” which means not only will there be a new president of the United States but, more importantly? Nate is back. The charming — or sleazy, depending on how you view him — political strategist, portrayed by Ashley Zukerman, has reentered the world of the Roys in order to mingle with Waystar’s top brass and the political elite, and make Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) jealous in his own home. In Episode 7, titled “Tailgate Party,” Tom and Shiv (Sarah Snook) host a gathering on election eve, at which Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) makes a surprise (well, to the Roy boys) visit. A double agent, Shiv plays informant to the GoJo chief in exchange for a key role in the company should the deal close. But the prospect of a Waystar-GoJo merger, which Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) have been trying to tank since visiting Norway, seems less likely at the end of the episode, as Shiv worries she picked the wrong team. The Waystar co-CEOs believe they’ve exposed cracks in Matsson’s bid to buy their father’s company, so much so that, by episode’s end, Kendall is floating the idea of Waystar acquiring GoJo.

Was it all staged? Andy Cohen clarified why Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss‘ affair was so shocking — even though Vanderpump Rules captured footage that questioned their relationship months prior.

It was reported this week that Kym Marsh has called time on her marriage to Army Major Scott Ratcliff just 18 months after tying the knot, allegedly a result of their busy careers. And detailing the realities of what being an 'army wife' entails, the soap actress, 46, said that being busy means "it’s quite easy to forget who you are as a person" while chatting with OK! last year following the couple's honeymoon.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor As the Writers Guild of America goes on strike, late-night television has been put on pause, including NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” which is on an indefinite hiatus. Multiple sources confirm to Variety that, in the unlikely event the strike is resolved in the coming weeks, “Succession” star Kieran Culkin is scheduled to take the stage at Studio 8H on May 13, with musical guest Labrinth, while “The White Lotus” star Jennifer Coolidge is set to close out “SNL’s” 48th season with Foo Fighters. This would have been Culkin’s second time hosting following his season 47 appearance. After being brilliantly imitated by “SNL” cast member Chloe Fineman, Coolidge would have made her long-awaited debut on the show.

hilarious impersonation of her earlier this season, Coolidge said she “tried her ass off” to appear on the show.The Foo Fighters were set as musical guest for the May 20 season finale, along with Coolidge. It would have been their first “SNL” appearance since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins.

Saturday Night Live fans, want to know what you are missing?

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Elizabeth Olsen calls herself an “unemployed” actor — even after playing Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and her latest role as Candy Montgomery in the HBO miniseries “Love & Death.” “I don’t want to work for work’s sake,” she tells Variety. “I don’t know how to half-ass stuff, so I have to love something a lot. And there are things I love, and it’s tough to raise money for them.” Olsen, 34, has multiple projects she wants to make with some unnamed first-time narrative directors but is finding it difficult to secure the financing that would allow them to have creative control. So, while she continues navigating Hollywood’s grounds during an unsteady economic time and a possible writer’s strike, she says she’s enjoying this break after working three years straight with Marvel (including two years of shooting and one year of promotion). “I don’t miss it,” she says.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Shiv’s the boss! On “Succession,” Sarah Snook plays the youngest Roy daughter Siobhan “Shiv” Roy, who isn’t sitting idly by while her newly minted co-CEO brothers run the media empire Waystar Royco — and neither is Snook with her Emmy chances. Variety has learned exclusively that Snook will be submitted into the lead drama actress category for this year’s Primetime Emmys, changing from her supporting bids for the three previous seasons. “Succession” is exhibiting its finest writing, directing and acting of the show’s short history. With each new weekly episode, Snook has shined dramatically, becoming the season’s clear standout of the large, sprawling ensemble. This campaign shift could now firmly cement her as the presumptive front-runner for the most coveted television prize for acting.

Succession.In the pilot episode of the HBO series, which first aired in June 2018, Culkin’s character was seemingly shown to be married with one child.However, Roman’s supposed family has not been mentioned or seen since, with showrunner Jesse Armstrong decided not to explore that detail further.When asked about this in a recent interview with Variety, Culkin was able to clear things up, stating: “Not his kid. Not his wife, either.”He explained: “It was in the pilot, and after it was picked up, it was his girlfriend, and she had a child.

A “Succession” mystery has finally been explained.

Succession” had a wife and kid in the pilot episode of the series — who were never seen again.Culkin, 40, revealed what happened to Roman Roy’s family in a new interview with Variety, sharing, “Not his kid. Not his wife, either.”“It was in the pilot, and after it was picked up, it was his girlfriend, and she had a child,” he told the outlet.As for the wedding band the actor was wearing in the pilot, it’s his real one from his marriage with wife Jazz Charton.But Culkin, who has two kids — daughter Kinsey Sioux, 3, and son Wilder Wolf, 2 — was delighted to play a father and was initially let down that it wasn’t going to play out that way.“I was excited about the idea of having a kid, and the kid was like 7 or 8.

Kieran Culkin is responding to some big questions about Succession, and with the show wrapping up in just a few weeks, we’re finally getting some answers!

Blink and you’ll miss it. Kieran Culkin clarified whether Roman Roy actually had a wife and child in the first episode of Succession.

Roman Roy is still an enigma.

Kieran Culkin will be submitted in the lead actor in a drama series category for the 2023 Primetime Emmy nominations for his role as Roman in HBO’s Succession, Deadline has confirmed.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Roman Roy is now co-CEO of Waystar RoyCo on HBO’s “Succession,” so it’s only natural that actor Kieran Culkin followed suit with his Emmy campaign. Culkin, who plays the sarcastic and jokey Roman on HBO’s hit drama series, confirms to Variety exclusively he will be submitted for the lead drama actor category at this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards. This marks a category switch for the actor, who previously submitted in the supporting categories for the three previous seasons. Roman has come to the forefront during this fourth and final season of the show, leading the way on the Waystar-GoJo deal with his siblings Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Shiv (Sarah Snook).

During “Succession” season 4, episode five, “Kill List,” written by Jon Brown and Ted Cohen and directed by Andrij Parekh, the Roy siblings — Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook) — are summoned to Norway for a team-building retreat by GoJo CEO Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård).

Ethan Shanfeld SPOILER ALERT: This recap contains spoilers for Season 4, Episode 5 of “Succession,” now streaming on HBO Max. It’s a new era at Waystar Royco, as newly branded co-CEOs Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) convene in their late father’s office to strategize for a meeting with Norwegian tech billionaire Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård). Wary of their positions post-GoJo merger — and perhaps genuinely concerned about the Roy kids’ ability to execute the deal — Gerri (J. Smith Cameron), Karl (David Rasche) and Frank (Peter Friedman) make their unwanted advice extra available, while Shiv (Sarah Snook) is conspicuously missing from the war room.

season 4, episode five, «Kill List,» written by Jon Brown and Ted Cohen and directed by Andrij Parekh, the Roy siblings — Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook) — are summoned to Norway for a team-building retreat by GoJo CEO Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård). However, Waystar Royco's old guard of executives, including Gerri Kellman (J. Smith-Cameron), grows increasingly concerned over the trip's true purpose.

Tom Sandoval is happy to see his ex-girlfriend, Ariana Madix, moving on.Sandoval was at LAX Tuesday, where he updated  about Scandoval and shared his opinions on Madix's weekend hookup after she was spotted making out with a new guy while at Coachella over the weekend.«I love that,» Sandoval said before adding that he wants to see his ex move on. «Yes, I do.