Succession's Alexander Skarsgård on Lukas and Shiv dynamic: 'He's using her'

Amid friction between Matsson and the CEO bros Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Roman (Kieran Culkin), he turned to Shiv for advice on how to push his ambitious acquisition deal through – and she's remained a key contact ever since.

But according to Skarsgård himself, their professional relationship may be little more than another act of psychological war designed to sow dissent among the Roy family.

"He’s one hundred percent using her," the actor told The Hollywood Reporter. "It’s a wedge in between the siblings. He sees an opening. He’s a predator. He sees that he needs to get at least one of them on board.

"Roman is out, but he smells blood in the water, this friction between the siblings. He smells the opening. He does move fast and break things, but he can read people."

Skarsgård added: "He sees that in Shiv, and he goes after that. It’s worked. She’s let him in. Where we’re at now, he’s still feeling the waters and testing her out. Is she also a charlatan?

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"Is she just like her siblings, a little Nepo Baby, or does she have what it takes? That’s what he’s trying to figure out."

The Succession power ranking remains in a constant state of flux, with no clear victor coming into view despite only three episodes remaining until the series finale.

The most recent episodes have seen Matsson's standing damaged; first, by an offensive post he shared to Twitter, and later, by the revelation that his company finances are not as robust as he promised.

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