‘Succession’: J Smith-Cameron Shares The Moment The Writers Spotted Sparks Between Her And Kieran Culkin
J Smith-Cameron has revealed how her sizzling real-life chemistry with Succession co-star Kieran Culkin was spotted by show execs and turned into something on screen more… enthralling.
The dynamic – one part maternal, three parts erotic -between Smith-Cameron and Culkin as Gerri, Waystar Royce’s general counsel, and mogul Logan Roy’s wayward third son Roman respectively, has caught viewers’ imagination as the show careens toward its ultimate ending.
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Smith-Cameron told The Times in London that, with her friendship with Culkin going back many years, they were having fun improvising off-set during the filming of the second season, and making martinis together.
“We had a little talk about how you can’t get a good martini in England unless you were in London,” said Smith-Cameron. 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.
The following season, Smith-Cameron revealed director Mark Myold told her to sit a little closer to Culkin during a scene. From there, it was only a short hop to the now infamous ‘behind the door’ scene between the two actors.
Smith-Cameron told The Times she was happy if her character has helped nudge the needle on the screen portrayal of women over some arbitrary age.
“There’s that age-old horrible wound of a woman only being valuable when she’s at her most fecund and beautiful and guidable… It’s against some faux rule of nature.”
In the same interview, Smith-Cameron laughed at the idea that she had become a sex symbol for many at the age of 65.
“The Brits have always [had this],” Smith-Cameron says. “I mean, Helen Mirren is the definition of it. And Charlotte Rampling, right? They paved the way.”
But Mirren “had a huge part in changing [attitudes in Hollywood] and I think Gerri’s had her part in changing that too.”
Succession continues on HBO in the US, Sky Atlantic in the UK.
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