Succession star Sarah Snook has broken down a key scene from the HBO series’ final season. Snook, who played would-be media empire heiress Siobhan Roy across all four seasons of Succession, shed light on a particular moment in which her character gets into an intense fight with her estranged husband Tom Wambsgans (played by Matthew Macfadyen).
The scene was lifted from the season four episode “Tailgate Party,” which Snook used as her submission for Best Drama Actress ahead of next year’s Emmy Awards. It’s a choice selection, given that the fight scene sees Snook and Macfadyen unleash their characters’ years-long resentments, tears and frustrations for one of the final season’s most captivating moments.
Pulling back the curtain on “Tailgate Party” as part of Variety’s Making a Scene series, Snook said the scene was shot at night over the course of a week, and that she and Macfadyen had practiced the dialogue in between filming other scenes. The actress also revealed that she had first informed cast and crew of her pregnancy while filming the balcony fight, which added extra layers since the characters were arguing about Shiv’s potential motherhood.
Aside from the technical aspects of shooting the scene, Snook described her personal reaction to “Tailgate Party, saying she “felt really sad for Shiv and the dissolution of her marriage.” Viewers know that the pair had danced around conflict throughout Succession’s entire run, which made their balcony fight all the more “explosive,” Snook said.
On the other hand, Snook said performing those big emotions was quite enjoyable, and described filming the scene as “playing with” Macfadyen. She’s perhaps the only person to feel that way, since fans largely agree that despite their resentments, Shiv and Tom were a couple to root for.
They’ll have to wait to see whether Snook’s efforts pay off at the Emmys, but with a mammoth 27 nominations to its name, it’s near-impossible for Succession to walk away empty handed.