Succession's Kieran Culkin had no idea about key moment before filming emotional scene

But in the penultimate episode, all eyes were on the Roy siblings to see how they would cope with their father's funeral – with one character providing viewers with a rather unexpected emotional scene.

Roman Roy, played by Kieran Culkin, was seen in the episode giving a eulogy in front of hundreds of attendees, who were all there to mourn the death of the Roy patriarch. But when he stepped up after Uncle Ewan’s (James Cromwell) eulogy, he surprisingly ushered his siblings up to the front and broke down in tears, stating that he "can't do this".

It was the teary scene that fans weren't quite expecting from the second-to-youngest Roy sibling who usually manages to slip out of living through the consequences of his actions. But this time around, his father's death was one thing he couldn't quite ignore – and although he had previously managed to keep a calmer façade, episode 9 showed that grief works in mysterious ways.

Speaking about filming the scene in a new interview with Vanity Fair, Culkin spoke about the fact that part of Roman's breakdown was due to hearing some traumatic truths about Logan’s childhood in his uncle's eulogy.

He said: "I remember thinking it could be connected to that, and specifically not wanting to read Ewan’s speech in the script. I didn’t want to know what he was going to say. Roman had a plan to go up and razzle dazzle [the mourners].

"And Ewan interrupts – and [the unraveling] starts from the frustration of something not being part of the plan, and then continues with him being pretty devastated by the stuff [Ewan] was saying. It was a good jumping-off point because now it’s like, 'Oh, I’ve got to follow that.' I just felt very lost."

He continued: "We didn’t rehearse it and I really did not want to rehearse it – even on the couch the night before. I just kind of looked at the lines vaguely and went, 'I don’t want to look at this. I don’t want to plan or think about how this is gonna happen.' Which was also terrifying, because I don’t know that I can do that stuff."

Read more:

• Succession star Sarah Snook says season 4 ending is "somewhat ambiguous"
• Succession episode 9 exposes Logan Roy's tragic family secret

The scene plays out with Roman being comforted and shielded from onlookers by Shiv (Sarah Snook), Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Connor (Alan Ruck) while he cries at the front of the church.

The scene has already done the rounds on the internet, with the moments being widely spoken about on Twitter and among fans for showcasing a different side to Roman – and it turns out that the scene very well could've been the first take.

Culkin said: "I haven’t seen it, but I think [they used] the first take. Stuff like that is hard to keep reliving. That scene sort of happened, and I forgot this was a TV show where we have to do takes and coverage. It was like, 'We did it and... Oh, good, we’re doing another.'

"A lot of stuff happens on the show that is not planned or rehearsed or talked about [beforehand]. When it happens, it’s really lovely and hard to recreate."

As for how the series will end, the finale is within reaching distance now and according to Snook, the drama could end on a bit of an open-ended note. Speaking about the finale in an interview with Marie Claire Australia, she revealed: "We knew it would be the final series [while filming], however, the way the series ends, a number of the cast felt it was left somewhat ambiguous."

Succession airs on Sky Atlantic and NOW with previous seasons available to watch on Sky and stream on NOW – sign up for Sky TV here.

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