Kieran Culkin knows his stuff Succession costar J. Smith-Cameron was “really mad” that their characters never got together.
While appearing on Hey! Live from the red carpet ahead of the 2023 Emmy Awards, the 41-year-old actor shared that Smith-Cameron, who plays Gerri on the hit HBO series, was hoping her character would hook up with Culkin’s Roman.
“She’s really freaking out,” he told host Laverne Cox of his co-star. “She says, ‘I thought something was going to happen.’ I always knew it would never quite happen. I feel like it’s not a show.”
J. Smith-Cameron jokingly roasts ‘Succession’ costar Kieran Culkin, calling brother Rory a ‘GOOD Culkin’
Also on the red carpet, Culkin interrupted Smith-Cameron’s interview with Diversity. Mimicking her voice to answer a question that was never asked, he joked about himself: “I love Kieran Culkin and he’s my absolute favorite to work with, even though he’s a jerk to me and I hate him in a personal light.”
“You really hate me, don’t you?” he said before adding, “You look lovely. You smell nice.”
She then asked for a “little kiss” and the pair shared lips.
Despite the tensions of their on-screen characters, Smith-Cameron has previously spoken about her close relationship with Kieran on set.
“We were always kind of flirting on set,” Smith-Cameron says of her co-star in an interview with Esquire in March 2023 “It was never really flirting for one second. It was more like a crush.”
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From Succession premiered in 2018, the couple hasn’t shied away from expressing their adoration for one another, including on social media.
In a snap shared on Instagram in March 2022, the duo sat next to each other and smiled cheekily at the camera. In the photo, Smith-Cameron is holding a martini glass with her middle finger raised to her lips.
“Kieran’s finger is going to get stuck like that,” Smith-Cameron jokingly captioned the snap, before clarifying, “(wearing @cynthiarowley a pajama-like shirt).”
A month earlier, the couple jokingly shared a passionate kiss at the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards after it was announced that Succession won the award for outstanding ensemble performance in a drama series.
Kieran Culkin and J. Smith-Cameron on “Succession”. Peter Kramer/HBO ‘Succession’ Costars Kieran Culkin and J. Smith-Cameron Reunite in Cheeky Pic After SAG Awards Kiss
In October 2021, after being asked who her favorite character was in the show she stars with, Smith-Cameron said Diversity“Shorty here, obviously,” referring to Culkin.
“He’s a great co-star and we have a fantastic plot and it’s a lot of fun,” she added of her co-star.
Culkin echoed her sentiments, speaking socket“It’s nice to work with that lady, I mean, look at her… it’s a pleasure. I’ve been friends with J for almost 20 years. I was very excited when she got this role, which I believe was originally written to be a man.”
“It feels like [chemistry] the thing just happened by itself and grew,” he continued. “She’s a wonderful partner in the scene and she’s fantastic to work with.”
That same month, Smith-Cameron said The Hollywood Reporter of her co-star, “He’s one of the most accessible, vibrant actors I’ve ever worked with or even seen. He’s so inventive and just … liberated. He’s just acting at the top of his game.”
Culkin also opened up THR about their chemistry, explaining that initially there was no flirting between the characters.
“I remember saying to my wife in the first season, ‘I really hope something happens sexually or romantically between the two of them, but I don’t know if it ever will,'” Kieran said. “But we sure did try. I would flirt with J in the most disgusting way, just for fun…but it never occurred to me that it would contribute to anything they wrote.”
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Source: HIS Education