Nicholas Braun Shares His Favorite 'Succession' Blooper (Spoiler: It Involves Wrestling with Kieran Culkin)

Mar. 15, 2025

Nicholas Braunis used to providing comic relief as Cousin Greg in the hit HBO seriesSuccession— but there are plenty of behind-the-scenes moments that get him laughing too.The 34-year-old actor, up for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series at this year’sEmmy Awards, opens up to PEOPLE in this week’s issue about some of his favorite on-set bloopers, including unexpected macho mêlées with costarKieran Culkin.For Braun’s favoriteSuccessionblooper, fans can look to a scene in the deliciously twisty season 2 finale when the Roy family was aboard a yacht in Croatia and in the thick of negotiations over who should take the fall for a series of sexual misconduct coverups in their company’s cruise ship subsidiary.“There’s a big scene where everybody’s talking about who should take the hit for the cruise stuff, and there’s a sort of tense moment with me and Kieran’s character [Roman Roy] where I say, ‘I’m not just Greg sprinkles,'” Braun recalls. “And Kieran and I often really like to go at each other when we get a chance.“He continues, “So in one of our takes, he and I really ramped it up. He came across the table and we started to fight. We started to wrestle, and he climbed on my back, and then we went to the ground and wrestled. That was really fun.“Nicholas Braun.Eric OgdenThe actors’ unscripted tussles didn’t end there — Braun says that he and Culkin, 39, escalated their characters' situations in an outtake from theseason 3 finale.Braun says that during a scene in which Culkin’s character Roman approached Greg as he chatted up a European countess, Culkin slapped him across the face as the cameras rolled.“I ended up slapping him right back,” Braun says. “Both of us were kind of shocked that it happened, but also not, because that’s just how it goes with he and I.“The actor explains that, during filming in Italy, the cameras are always rolling so the show’s stars were never quite sure which unscripted antics would make it into the final show.But, he quips, “I’m always willing to take a slap for a good take.“Nicholas Braun.Eric OgdenDuring his PEOPLE photo shoot, Braun spilled moreSuccessionset secrets, including the fact that his favorite way to kill time between scenes is chatting up costarMatthew Macfadyen, who plays Tom Wambsgans."[We talk] about the most mundane things, like which doughnut we’d like to eat from craft service, what pair of boots each one is looking to buy next,” he says. “We’re always strategizing about buying a pair of jeans, buying a pair of boots, what pastries to eat. Of all my costars, the person who makes me laugh most is Matthew. We know how to crack each other up.“Nicholas Braun in Succession.Macall B. Polay/ HBOThoughSuccessionhas been nominated for Emmys in the past — andis up for plenty more this year (25!)— Braun says he’s ready to attend this year’s ceremony in Los Angeles since he had to enjoy the celebrations virtually last time.“It’ll be great to be in person and be a nominee among 13 other actors,” he says. “It’ll be great to see, and I hope that people from our show win. I’d love to see that. It’ll be a fun night. I won’t be in Crocs this time.“For more on Nicholas Braun and the Emmys, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.Seasons 1–3 ofSuccessionare available to stream now on HBO Max. The 74th annualEmmy Awardswill be broadcast Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. on NBC.

Nicholas Braunis used to providing comic relief as Cousin Greg in the hit HBO seriesSuccession— but there are plenty of behind-the-scenes moments that get him laughing too.

The 34-year-old actor, up for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series at this year’sEmmy Awards, opens up to PEOPLE in this week’s issue about some of his favorite on-set bloopers, including unexpected macho mêlées with costarKieran Culkin.

For Braun’s favoriteSuccessionblooper, fans can look to a scene in the deliciously twisty season 2 finale when the Roy family was aboard a yacht in Croatia and in the thick of negotiations over who should take the fall for a series of sexual misconduct coverups in their company’s cruise ship subsidiary.

“There’s a big scene where everybody’s talking about who should take the hit for the cruise stuff, and there’s a sort of tense moment with me and Kieran’s character [Roman Roy] where I say, ‘I’m not just Greg sprinkles,'” Braun recalls. “And Kieran and I often really like to go at each other when we get a chance.”

He continues, “So in one of our takes, he and I really ramped it up. He came across the table and we started to fight. We started to wrestle, and he climbed on my back, and then we went to the ground and wrestled. That was really fun.”

Nicholas Braun.Eric Ogden

The actors’ unscripted tussles didn’t end there — Braun says that he and Culkin, 39, escalated their characters' situations in an outtake from theseason 3 finale.

Braun says that during a scene in which Culkin’s character Roman approached Greg as he chatted up a European countess, Culkin slapped him across the face as the cameras rolled.

“I ended up slapping him right back,” Braun says. “Both of us were kind of shocked that it happened, but also not, because that’s just how it goes with he and I.”

The actor explains that, during filming in Italy, the cameras are always rolling so the show’s stars were never quite sure which unscripted antics would make it into the final show.

But, he quips, “I’m always willing to take a slap for a good take.”

During his PEOPLE photo shoot, Braun spilled moreSuccessionset secrets, including the fact that his favorite way to kill time between scenes is chatting up costarMatthew Macfadyen, who plays Tom Wambsgans.

“[We talk] about the most mundane things, like which doughnut we’d like to eat from craft service, what pair of boots each one is looking to buy next,” he says. “We’re always strategizing about buying a pair of jeans, buying a pair of boots, what pastries to eat. Of all my costars, the person who makes me laugh most is Matthew. We know how to crack each other up.”

Nicholas Braun in Succession.Macall B. Polay/ HBO

ThoughSuccessionhas been nominated for Emmys in the past — andis up for plenty more this year (25!)— Braun says he’s ready to attend this year’s ceremony in Los Angeles since he had to enjoy the celebrations virtually last time.

“It’ll be great to be in person and be a nominee among 13 other actors,” he says. “It’ll be great to see, and I hope that people from our show win. I’d love to see that. It’ll be a fun night. I won’t be in Crocs this time.”

For more on Nicholas Braun and the Emmys, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribehere.

Seasons 1–3 ofSuccessionare available to stream now on HBO Max. The 74th annualEmmy Awardswill be broadcast Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. on NBC.

source: people.com