‘Succession’: Sarah Snook Almost Turned Down Shiv Role Over ‘Game of Thrones’
Succession is HBO’s must-see TV. Before it premiered in 2015, it was an unknown quality. Emmy-nominated Succession star Sarah Snook had reservations about playing the role of Shiv Roy and those were because of Game of Thrones, which was already a hit on HBO.
Snook was a guest on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast on Aug. 19. Discussing her role on the Emmy-winning series, which is again nominated for more Emmys, Snook discussed the original audition process. Snook is currently filming Succession Season 4.
Why ‘Game of Thrones’ skeeved Sarah Snook out on ‘Succession’
Succession premiered in 2018. By the time it was gearing up, Game of Thrones was already several seasons deep. Knowing how edgy HBO shows can be, Snook was worried that she might have to do nudity for Succession.
“The thing that was most prominent on HBO was Game of Thrones,” Snook said on Awards Chatter. “I think it was in the third or fourth season at that time. Whilst I know that Game of Thrones evolved, it was around the time there was that ‘show us a bit of male full frontal, HBO, why don’t you? We’re getting a lot of female full frontal.’ There was that video clip that came out at that time.”
Nudity was one of many reasons Sarah Snook reconsidered ‘Succession’
Three seasons in, it’s clear Succession did not rely on sex and nudity. However, just speculating on an upcoming show, Snook knew she would play the only female sibling in the Roy family.
“And I don’t know, I just didn’t trust that I would be on a show with being the only younger female that I could tell from the pilot with a lot of white businessmen, one, that people would be interested in this and two, that I wouldn’t potentially be exploited being the one female,” Snook said.
But also, at the same time, Snook auditioned for a movie role she wanted more than Succession.
“There was another one for Where’d You Go, Bernadette and I was more interested in that because I was more interested in working with [Richard] Linklater,” Snook said. “I was like I’m not a billionairess daughter. This is not a good fit.”
How she changed her mind
Snook was a tough sell on Succession. She said no to the final audition at first.
“So it was in that where you are negotiating, and like here’s what the offer is and as part of a negotiating thing as well I’m sure it’s do you want to do this or not?” Snook said. “Say yes or no to this. If you say no, it could go away. Are you okay with that? And I was like well, yeah. I didn’t understand how I could fit into it either. I didn’t see a world where how I view myself and what my capacity as an actor is could fit into this space.”
In the end, Snook was convinced she might as well try a Succession audition and see what happens. What happened was she became Shiv.
“Just throw your hat in the ring in the end,” Snook said. “They came back and said what about this? Okay, sure. That’s nice. And it’s still the final bit before the last audition so it’s like you’re going into a screen test with this is what I have to offer the network. I come at this price and I come at this acting level. You sign before you even do the final audition. It’s really weird.”
