On the HBO drama Succession, Matthew Macfadyen and Nicholas Braun have the kind of onscreen chemistry that inspires YouTube videos titled “Tom and Greg Being Iconic for 8 Minutes Straight” and “Tom & Cousin Greg’s Love Hate Bromance.” And off-screen, the actors’ relationship is just as tight, though arguably more wholesome.
In a new interview with The Times, Braun shared that he and Macfadyen held onto each other at the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards in September when it was time for their category, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. “Matthew’s and my hands were on each other’s legs when the nominees were getting read out,” he said (per Deadline). “We were looking at each other, squeezing each other’s legs when our names got read aloud. Then, when he won, I got to be the first person to give him a hug. And then his wife.”
Braun also waxed bromantic about his costar as he discussed filming Succession’s fourth and final season. “God, I love Matthew,” he said. “I just feel extremely close to him — when we finished shooting the last season, I sobbed saying goodbye. It’s still hard to get through a scene with him without laughing.”
He and Macfadyen also discussed their working relationship with Entertainment Weekly in 2021, saying they bonded on day one. “There was instant animosity [between Tom and Greg],” Macfadyen said. “My character’s thinking, who’s this guy? Greg is blood family, and I’m tall, but you’re a bit taller, [and] he’s younger. It’s just unsettling [for Tom]. But I suddenly thought, ‘Oh, it’s going to be okay,’ because I found Nick so funny.”
Added Braun: “That was a good feeling to me, as an actor, to know, like, ‘Okay, that’s a safe space.’ If I want to interact with that actor, and that character, he’ll be there for me. When somebody makes you want to laugh while you’re working, you know there’s a connection there. So, yeah, [we] pretty quickly realized we’re kindred spirits and have similar styles and sense of humor — and the writers luckily wrote towards that.”
Succession, Season 4 Premiere, Sunday, March 26, 9/8c, HBO and HBO Max
