Arian Moayed interview: ‘Succession’
“I just love that this Emmy nomination comes on the words of Jesse Armstrong,” shares Arian Moayed, who celebrates his career first bid for his performance on the HBO series “Succession.” The actor has appeared in every season of the show as the shrewd corporate investor Stewy Hosseini, a longtime friend, business partner, and occasional adversary to Jeremy Strong’s Kendall Roy. He admits that he’s “still kind of pinching” himself about the news of his recognition, beaming, “I love it.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
Moayed discusses how he first became involved with the show, dating back to an audition for the pilot episode. When he read for the series again a year later, he says he found Stewy “fascinating” because of how corporate types like his character “must be surrounded by shields” and “Teflon.” He describes the character as “carefree and serious and honest, bluntly honest,” all attributes that lend themselves to his hilarious and wry performance.
WATCH our exclusive video interview with director Mark Mylod, ‘Succession’ Season 2
The actor submitted the episode “Retired Janitors of Idaho” for Emmy consideration. In the installment, Stewy helps broker an extremely last-minute deal between Kendall’s family company Waystar Royco and his own partners as the two sides attempt to avoid a shareholder vote that would determine ownership for them. Moayed chose this one because he loves the “maneuvering” that Stewy and Kendall do and the pivotal role his character plays in “trying to make the deal happen.” The episode leans heavily into farce, but he notes that the actors try not to anticipate the tone of the episode. “We’re not told what style these scenes are. We’re just going in there and forcing our version of what true might be,” admits the actor.
Across all three seasons, Moayed has shared the majority of his scenes with Strong. The two have known each other for years and their personal history helps inform their on-screen rapport. He notes that he and the Emmy winner have “completely different styles of acting” that lend to their “different energies” when in character and are “documented in a very real way” by the camera. He observes how “Jeremy takes the work so seriously and so deeply,” whereas he admits he tries “to relax in the space” when in production.
