Kieran Culkin nearly got cast as cousin Greg on HBO’s hit show Succession

‘They wanted me to read for Cousin Greg, which I just didn’t feel right for,’ the actor recently said

Kieran Culkin recently revealed that he was being considered for the part of Cousin Greg on HBO’s hit show Succession.

During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the 30-year-old actor said he was originally asked to read for Greg’s role, admitting he knew he was “wrong for that part”.

He said: “They wanted me to read for Cousin Greg, which I just didn’t feel right for.”

“Normally in any other script, I would be like, ‘OK I’m not right for the part I’m going to close it. I’m not going to continue reading on.”

However, Culkin added that he felt compelled to read on because he liked the show’s script and discovered a likeness to on-screen media mogul Logan Roy’s youngest son, Roman.

Referencing Roman’s first dialogue on the show –“Hey, hey, motherf*****”– Culkin said: “Oh, there’s this guy. I kinda like this guy, I like the way he talks. I can do that.”

When he asked to audition for the irreverent, foul-mouthed successor-in-waiting’s role on the HBO series, Culkin said he was told the makers weren’t auditioning for Roman’s role at the time.

However, Culkin decided to send in an audition anyway.

“I was like ‘Here’s three scenes if you want to,” Culkin explained, before he was finally brought on-board as Roman. The part of Cousin Greg subsequently went to Nicholas Braun who, Culkin said, is “fantastic” on the show.

Culkin hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time o 6 November, with Ed Sheeran appearing as the episode’s musical guest.

Kieran Culkin attends the ‘Succession’ season three premiere on 12 October 2021 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

However, this isn’t the first time the Emmy-nominated actor was on the sets of Saturday Night Live, now in its 47th season.

Nine-year-old Culkin was cast as a guest star in a sketch when his brother, Home Alone actor Macaulay Culkin hosted the show twenty years ago, in November 1991.

The younger Culkin told Fallon he remembered “quite a lot” from that experience, including being introduced to actor and comedian Kevin Nealon and his honest reaction.

He said: “I was with my mom and Kevin Nealon walks by, and she grabs him and goes, ‘Oh hey, you’re great. By the way, you’re my son’s favourite.’”

Culkin, however, was quick to clarify that Nealon was his “second favourite” after Dana Carvey.

Succession airs live in the UK every Monday at 9 pm local time on Sky Atlantic.