They may not be quite as rich as the Roys themselves, but the stars of HBO’s hit series Succession are certainly giving it a good go. Since the show hit our screens for the first time five years ago, their pay packets have slowly but surely crept up and now, in the show’s fourth and final season, they’re eye-watering.
As the smash-hit series about media mogul Logan Roy and his wholly complex family comes to its widely regretted end in only a few weeks’ time, it’s high time we focused on something beyond the show’s hilariously cutting dialogue, glitzy watches and “recessioncore” outfits.
If you’re a fan of the show, or just if you haven’t been living under a rock for the past couple of years, then you’ll know that the Roy family is stupid wealthy, hundreds of billions kinda wealthy, much like the infamous Murdoch family that the show – much to Murdoch’s disgust – is looking to mimic.
But something that get’s far less attention is what the stars behind the hit show get paid themselves. They may not quite match up to their on-screen characters in terms of take-home cash, but they’re not doing too badly at all.
First, let’s dive into how much the cast is making per episode. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the cast members were initially earning under $100,000 per episode when the show first started. However, ahead of season three, each actor (and doubtless a swarm of commission-hungry agents…) renegotiated each person’s salary individually, rather than as an ensemble cast as per the initial set-up.
WATCH: Succession Season 4’s thrilling trailer.
Surprisingly, much of the cast actually ended up negotiating for a very similar amount: Jeremy Strong (Kendall Roy), Sarah Snook (Siobhan Roy), Kieran Culkin (Roman Roy), Alan Ruck (Connor Roy), Matthew Macfadyen (Tom Wambsgans), and Nicholas Braun (Cousin Greg) all ended up taking home between $300,000 and $350,000 USD ($445,000-$520,000 AUD).
Meanwhile, and in perfect alignment with their on-screen dynamic, Brian Cox who plays the altogether terrifying head of the family Logan Roy, took home a sizeably bigger paycheque than all of his fictional family members. According to an article on Deadline, Cox renegotiated his salary to a whopping $400,000-$500,000 USD per episode ($593,000-$740,000AUD).
Arguably, what’s even more interesting than their per-episode pay is the cast’s overall net worth. Given the different lengths, trajectories, and successes of their careers, this is the way to really break up the pack in terms of finances:
Starting from the bottom, we have Nicholas Braun who plays Cousin Greg. Although he’s one of the breakout stars of the show, his net worth is estimated to be a relatively humble $4 million USD. This is level with his on-screen cousin Sarah Snook, who’s also worth around $4 million USD.
Next up are Kieran Culkin and Matthew Macfadyen, who are both estimated to be worth around $5 million USD. This might come as a surprise to some, given that Culkin comes from a well established acting dynasty and has been in the game since childhood.
Then we turn to the inimitable Jeremy Strong who plays the complex eldest son of the Roy family’s second wave, Kendall. Having already garnered a slew of big movie credits to his name before joining Succession, such as The Big Short and Selma, he’s pretty cozy at $6 million USD.
In a wonderful bit of dramatic irony, next up is Alan Ruck aka Connor Roy, the much-maligned first child of Logan Roy whose farcical run for President has kept us all giggling for three seasons now. Having been in the biz for a long time and starred in smash-hots like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, he has $12 million USD under his belt.
Finally and fittingly, we come to Brian Coz aka Logan Roy. An acting legend with over half a century of experience and a whole host of credits, he’ll be enjoying a pretty comfortable retirement: he’s. worth $15 million USD.
So there you have it folks: if you can’t make your millions in media, you could always make them acting in media about media. Failing that, you could always try robbing Alan Ruck. Yes,I know Cox has more cash, but I wouldn’t dare mess with him…