Kieran Culkin doesn’t know what Roman’s sexuality is, either
The Succession star says the show has consistently approached Logan Roy's youngest son as a character who "might be more fluid."
Aux News Kieran Culkin
(Note: This article contains spoilers for Succession season 4 episode 6, “Kill List.”)
On Succession, a show about horrible people created by talented people, the worse the characters fare, the better the ensemble performs. Sunday night’s episode of the HBO series, one of the tensest for Roman Roy in recent memory, saw Kieran Culkin in top form, skillfully making the case for his recent decision to campaign in the lead drama actor category at this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards.
Roman’s evolution from charmingly depraved media empire heir to co-CEO of Waystar-Royco has been a long and winding road peppered with more than a few swiftly-snapped pictures of his penis. But one thing that Roman has never directly grappled with—at least, beyond a few ill-timed conversations with Gerri (J. Smith Cameron)—is his sexuality. Although in the series pilot, Roman was introduced with a girlfriend who had her own child, those characters didn’t reappear as the series continued forward, a choice Culkin says was a purposeful way to explore Roman’s preferences.
“I was excited about the idea of having a kid, and the kid was like 7 or 8,” Culkin tells Variety’s Clayton Davis. “It was a little disappointing, but I think the idea was that it would just give them more freedom to play with the character.”
He continues: “They had mentioned to me, even before we shot the pilot, about questioning what Roman’s sexuality is — and we don’t know what it is. They were toying with the idea that she’s aware that you have sort of hangups sexually when it comes to monogamy, and might be more fluid, but we don’t know what that is yet.” With only five episodes left in the series—and the plot-line leaning heavily into bleak business over any sort of pleasure—that clock on that “yet” is ticking.
New episodes of Succession premiere Sunday nights on HBO at 9:30 P.M. E.T.
26 Comments
I thought he was basically asexual (which contrary to popular belief, doesn’t mean someone is an android with zero horniness ever). He doesn’t seem interested in sexual concourse with any other person, only occasional masturbation. And he presents outwardly pervy as a defense mechanism.
Yep, that’s always been my read on him.
Conversely, I always read him as being into basically any parent-figure willing to tell him he’s a good boy, but also being uncomfortable with that idea, and presenting as outwardly pervy similarly as a defence mechanism, only to keep from having to explore the underlying emotionality.Thinking about it, though, it’s been a long time since I’ve watched the earlier seasons with Tabitha–and I’m not too familiar with the nuances of asexuality–so I’m not sure how well my read tracks there.
(which contrary to popular belief, doesn’t mean someone is an android with zero horniness ever)
Can confirm. Not because I’m ace (I’m not), mind you, but I browse a lot of written and drawn smut. Let me tell you, creators of some of the most filthy, most degenerate and sweat-drippingly hot porn on the internet are loudly and proudly ace.
Agreed. I remember in the second season, when he’s dating the tall blonde, she implies that she slept with the character who eventually becomes Kendall’s girlfriend. When Roman asks her if there was anyone she hadn’t slept with, she replies, “You!”
He’s truly a sexual Rorschach test, because I didn’t view him as ace, I viewed him as extremely traumatized.All of the Roys are emotionally stunted, but Roman was literally abused, both physically and possibly sexually. He makes a lot of jokes about the latter and I think something did happen to him for real. And that his sexuality is really intertwined with power dynamics and with shame as a result. His orientation feels secondary to this.He’s had these arms-length relationships with women at different points (who honestly come off more as acquaintances.) But the most sexual he gets is with Gerri, which is pointedly non-physical and built around a kind of twisted mommy-domme dynamic.And let’s really dig into that: the most sexually open Roman can be is in this rigidly-defined, non-physical kink dynamic. I think he doesn’t like being touched because he doesn’t trust people enough to be touched. And that the degradation roleplay aspect (the “slime puppy” stuff) is rewarding for him as a consensual reframing of the shameful feelings he has as a victim of abuse, made even worse in this family obsessed with posturing strength.
A sexual what?
A sexual tyrannosaurus!
New episodes of Succession premiere Sunday nights on HBO at 9:30 P.M. E.T.9:00 PM
“New episodes of Succession premiere Sunday nights on HBO at 9:30 P.M. E.T.”
No, they fucking don’t. They air at 9pm, for fuck’s sake.
Fluid? He wishes! If he were fluid, there’d be no problem. No, what he has is a romantic abnormality, one so unbelievable that it must be hidden from the public at all costs…
Frasier, please, no. I just ate a whole plate of ding-ama-goo.
It doesn’t matter what it is, its better being ambiguous.
However one thing is not in question.
Whatever his thing is, its creepy.
His one true love in Manhattan. Isn’t it obvious?
So you could say he’s…. metrosexual?I’ll go now.
But the real star is New York City itself…OHMYGAWD, what is that kid doing?!
Every single human on the planet would do look at Skargard’s dick.
Rewatching season one I was suprised how oedipal he was. He jokes about wanting to have sex with Marcia, and then when he first lays eyes on… shit her name hasn’t come up yet, but the woman who snowballs Tom and then becomes Roman’s longest relationship on the show. His response to her attractiveness is something like “Damn, dad would have been all over that.” Weird as hell.
Tabitha
Thanks, they said it during Shiv’s wedding but it was too late to edit.
Yeah his sexuality is just, I don’t know off. Like I don’t know he may still be a virgin since it appears he has no desire for actual intercourse. The closest I can get is the only way he get’s off is to make the other person/people VERY VERY uncomfortable. Like when he was going to have sex with his girlfriend he wanted her to act like she was dead. At the end of the day dude is way fucked up in the head.
Y’all seriously need better editors. This is episode 5, not 6. ““(Note: This article contains spoilers for Succession season 4 episode 6, “Kill List.”)“
Let’s not forget the childhood trauma behind how Roman moves through the world (hit by Logan, ignored by mommy, Connor was a father figure etc etc). not to spark the whole nature v nurture debate, but that shit adds up and does make navigating off-center sexual shit a lot harder.
To say nothing of whatever that “dog pound” game was. The show has done an amazing job at giving us these tantalizing little peeks of the sibling’s childhood. They’re always gold.
New episodes of Succession premiere Sunday nights on HBO at 9:30 P.M. E.T. Ok, so now we are so bad at our job we can’t even get the time the show airs correct??Sweet fuckall…
lol, i’ll believe when i see it.