Is HBO’s SUCCESSION More Like GAME OF THRONES or THE SOPRANOS? Nicholas Braun Weighs In

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede SUCCESSION is the new GAME OF THRONES! That’s the theory that was put to Nicholas Braun, who plays Cousin Greg on HBO’s SUCCESSION, when he paid a visit to Bell Media headquarters in Toronto. It was pointed out to Braun that there always seems to be a big-buzz HBO show that everyone is talking about, from THE SOPRANOS, to TRUE BLOOD, to GAME OF THRONES, and the current holder of that title is SUCCESSION. “Oh my gosh, I don’t think I could actually think that,” said the 31-year-old Braun. “I’ve been acting for too long to ever think, ‘I’m doing the best thing, this is it.’ I’ve always avoided that moment in my mind. But this definitely feels different. I’ve never experienced this type of excitement and such a positive reaction. And the cool thing about TV is that the following is very loyal. People are going to follow this show for as long as it goes. So I’m just here for the ride.” Braun is too young to have watched THE SOPRANOS in its original run, but if you take away the mob violence, there are a lot of similarities with SUCCESSION, in terms of exposing the intricacies of a family empire under siege. “I never got into THE SOPRANOS, but I still owe that to myself, once I get the flu I’m going to start that show,” Braun said. “I watched a lot of TRUE BLOOD. I didn’t watch much GAME OF THRONES, but I watched a lot of THE WIRE, I watched OZ, I watched ENTOURAGE. And it definitely feels like our show fits into that group, with the dysfunctional family dynamics in a very specific world. You’re getting to be in rooms and helicopters and all these places, listening to conversations that we only see summarized in newspaper headlines. So I think it’s pretty amazing to bring that to life.” The world in which the fictional Roy family lives remains relatively new to Cousin Greg, but he certainly started to fit in better toward the end of Season 2, for better or for worse. There’s a great scene where Greg tells some of the other characters that no matter what happens, he’s going to be left with $5 million, so he’ll be fine, but the others warn him that $5 million is pretty much the worst amount of money, because it’s neither poor nor super-rich. “I love that scene and that moment, because yeah, when you’re 23 or 24, you think, “$5 million bucks? I’ll be good for life!’ ” Braun said. “But if you live on the budget that these people live on, with the stuff they have to do, that money’s not going to last. Like, Connor is burning through millions on that Broadway show! You gotta put on nice suits, you can’t keep recycling your suits, you gotta upgrade the apartment, you gotta pay your driver. It adds up.” Does Braun think Greg is a good person or a bad person? Greg is as selfish as the rest of them, but he doesn’t quite have all the tools. He’s part innocent, part idiot, part instigator. “I think you said it perfectly,” Braun said. “I think he has all those qualities. He’s not the brightest. He doesn’t conduct himself in the best manner. He’s highly ambitious, but yeah, he’s not equipped with the tools. So he doesn’t know exactly how to manoeuvre, but I know that he WANTS to manoeuvre. Plus, I think he uses being befuddled to sort of neutralize people, or to make him look like less of a threat. But some of that’s real. It’s all very mixed up for me, too.” Some viewers think that Greg is going to wind up taking it all. “Wow,” Braun said, “Well, I think Greg would be honoured to hear that. But there are a lot of hurdles before a guy like Greg takes the throne.” Just to be clear, he means the Roy family throne, not the Iron Throne. But hey, either one works. Seasons 1 and 2 of SUCCESSION are available only on Crave, and Season 3 is on the way. billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv