Kieran Culkin finally reveals why Roman Roy's wife and son were never seen again in 'Succession'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Succession,' which debuted on HBO in 2018, is currently one of the most popular and critically acclaimed shows. The show, which has gone on to win multiple awards, has received praise from both viewers and reviewers for how Jesse Armstrong endeared the narrative of Roman Roy to millions of people.
Kieran Culkin plays Roman Roy in the drama show, which revolves around a family of millionaires fighting for ownership of the company while their father, Logan Roy, played by brilliant actor Brian Cox, deals with health issues. Roman's path from Waystar-Royco's deliciously twisted media empire heir to co-CEO has been lengthy, but people have questioned what happened to his wife and son, who made an appearance in the pilot episode. And now, Culkin has finally opened up about that mystery.
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'Gives freedom to play with the character'
In a recent interview, Culkin was asked about his character's wife and child that people saw for a brief moment in the pilot episode. He said, “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. I’m wearing my real wedding band in the episode. I was excited about the idea of having a kid, and the kid was like 7 or 8. It was a little disappointing, but I think the idea was that it would just give them more freedom to play with the character," as per Variety.
Culkin further said that the makers had spoken to him about Roman Roy’s sexuality before they filmed the plot stating that they don’t know what it is. The actor said, “They were toying with the idea that she’s aware that you have sort of hangups sexually when it comes to monogamy, and might be more fluid, but we don’t know what that is yet.”
Roman falls into and out of relationships without any purpose and is constantly making lewd jokes, which is intriguing. However, there is a discrepancy between Roman's lewd comments and his capacity to form meaningful relationships. The audience quickly notes that Roman doesn't have a lot of sex, and whenever he tries to have sex with Tabitha, played by Caitlin FitzGerald, he says she plays dead because he wants the act to be taboo or otherwise inappropriate. Roman eventually finds someone who is prepared to accept his attachment style in Gerri Kellman, Waystar Royco's legal advisor/fixer, despite Tabitha being uncomfortable with his desires.
Roman Roy's flirty dynamics with Gerri Kellman
This links to Roman's attraction toward older women, such as his father's wife, Marcia, and especially to Gerri, who appears like the Roy's closest semi-maternal figure. The attraction between Gerri and Roman culminates in 'special conference call' scenes in which Roman enjoys being humiliated by Gerri. Logan sees Roman’s ‘mommy issues’ and being attracted to elder women as a desire to be controlled, as well as a vulnerability or perversity.
The actors Kieran Culkin and J Smith-Cameron, who plays Gerri Kellman on the show, have been friends off-screen for a long time, and Culkin stated in one of his discussions that working with her is fantastic, adding that she was not in the pilot episode, but once they got picked up and she was cast as Gerri, he knew it would turn out to be so much fun. Fans can't get enough of Roman and Gerri's flirty dynamic on the show, even though tensions between them have continued to rise. After Logan Roy died, Roman was tasked with firing Kellman as Waystar Royce's general counsel, but he still relied on her to help him navigate his father's sudden demise. However, she ultimately gave him the cold shoulder as their untraditional flirty relationship continued to unravel.
Smith-Cameron on her part pointed out that because both of them have known each other before the show; the writers felt that they could explore the angle of romance between the two. She said, “We had a little talk about how you can’t get a good martini in England unless you were in London. Then I left and he looked back at me, and then I looked back at him. We missed each other. And it was this look that was caught by the writers," according to The Times.
In October 2021, during an interview, Culkin said, "I remember saying to my wife in season one, 'I really hope something happens sort of sexually or romantically between those two, but I don't know that it ever will. But we were sure trying. I would flirt with J. in the most obnoxious way, just to f*** around ... but it never occurred to me that it would inform anything they wrote," as per The Hollywood Reporter.
Does Roman Roy derive power from his sexual powerlessness?
Kellman's self-confidence and motherliness are qualities Roman admires, and she recognizes how to meet his needs. Gerri and Roman's connection is enjoyable to watch since it becomes therapeutic. Roman shows up to be more secure and prepared to take on responsibility maturely at work after having his taboo desires met in a safe space.
Power dynamics are also important in their relationship, as Roman relentlessly seeks a woman whose career depends on his family's employment, and in the process, he exceeds all kinds of boundaries. Gerri is self-assured and experienced; she knows how to keep him in check, and he also wants her to humiliate him. In one of the episodes, Roman gets some psychosexual pleasure out of humiliating a young waiter who he thought was making a move on Grace and later the couple uses her vibrating phone as a sex toy.
Roman seemingly derives power from his sexual powerlessness, and he glorifies his disappointment to take over it and gain power. Roman Roy is far more intriguing as the pervy little emotionally hindered manchild who might be utilized as a template for Freudianism (Oedipus complex) in psychology classes all over the world.
‘Succession’ airs Sundays at 9 pm ET on HBO.