We all deal with grief in different ways, but for Kerry Castellabate, Logan Roy’s assistant, advisor and lover, the immediate reaction was barely contained hysteria.
In that jaw-dropping third episode of Succession series four, when the Waystar Royco chief suffers a fatal heart attack on his private jet, the savvy, social-climbing Kerry steps away from Logan’s lifeless body and confronts the fretting executive team with a maniacal smile on her face. “That was fucking nuts… that was fucking crazy, right?” she asks, before leaving them to their crisis talks.
“Judging by her grin," says Tom, "It looks like she caught a foul ball at Yankee Stadium”.
The fact that she's in any position to benefit from Logan's demise is testament to Kerry's growing importance over the past three seasons of the hit HBO show, and actor Zoë Winters' impressive performance in the role. Prior to her casting in the series, she made a name for herself in New York’s theatre world. “When I came into Succession in series two,” she tells Esquire over a Zoom call, “I was just Logan’s assistant and over time, the role has evolved into this incredibly complex character.”
Working in the shadows of a heavy fringe that rivals Claudia Winkleman’s, fans have seen Kerry stealthily wheedle her way into Logan’s affections, progressing from lowly assistant to a trusted advisor and much, much more – as the Roy kids love to crudely joke about. By series four, with their odd-couple alliance, Kerry has morphed into a mini-Logan, unafraid to tear a strip off anyone who thwarts her ambitions.
But with Logan’s death, all Kerry’s best laid plans have come crashing down. Episode four shows Kerry at her lowest; refused the chance to pay her last respects to Logan by Marcia, scrabbling around on the floor, humiliated, when she drops her handbag full of prescription pills. That’s where Esquire picked up with Winters, to learn more about Kerry, and where she goes from here…
I hear you created a 500-page document to develop the backstory of Kerry - what did you work on?
I have a theatre background and I am also an obsessive person, so some of it is inspired and some of it is probably unhealthy, but I really believe in research and coming in with a backstory. I thought about Kerry’s political ambitions, her story and her family and what drives her to this addiction of being seen by a very powerful person… building up a lot of loss, being broken so that you fall easily into the clutches of ambition and hunger for power.
When did you find out Logan was going to die and what were your first thoughts about it?
I was so sad. I’ve had such an incredible time working with Brian [Cox] as he is so talented and so incredibly gifted at what he does. He’s an extremely generous performer. I remember one time early on in season two I said: ‘Brian, I’m just going to try something’ and he said [does an impressive Brian impersonation] ‘You do whatever you want to do!’ It was this moment of feeling like not only was I working with this incredible titan of talent, he was giving me the room to play, and he listened to me and took it all in. He’s such an incredible pillar of the show that I felt so sad that this character was coming to an end.
When did they tell you?
We knew at the beginning of the season that it was going to happen, but I don’t know if I knew where it was going to fall in the season. We had a conversation, and I’m probably gonna misquote Jesse [Armstrong] now, but he said something along the lines of, ‘What you would expect is that a death like this would happen in the third and final act but this happens in the first act, as that’s how death happens’. I have had experience of death, and it takes you by surprise, it’s shocking and it’s unapologetic in its abruptness and undeniability.
What was your last day of filming with Brian like?
We had some gatherings and great send-offs. I gave him a pair of cufflinks. In episode four when Kerry’s coming back for her things, I didn’t tell Brian this, but she’s coming to find papers and jewellery but also I think she wants some mementos and meaningful things, and I always had this idea that she wanted this pair of cufflinks from him that he had worn the first night she felt seen by him, noticed and in his gaze. So I got him a pair of cufflinks to say thank you.
Kerry, of course, was on the private jet when Logan dies. Did you have discussions with Jesse or director Mark Mylod about her unique reaction?
First of all, I was shooting the scene in the jet across from Tom [Matthew Macfadyen] and at the time you don’t get to see Kerry’s reaction, which I think is good because when she comes through the doors, you’re like, how is this person going to react?
It was an incredibly shocking scene and we shot it multiple times. As [Jesse and Mark] previously expressed in interviews about running through the scenes on the boat [Matthew actually calling in on the phone], the kids [Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin] also called in on our end and ran through the whole scene for Matthew as well, for him to be reacting to and delivering difficult news to. My part was written something along the lines of, ‘she’s in shock and maybe it’s coming out through uncontrollable giggles’ and ‘inappropriate, strange smiling at times’. I knew going in that there was this element of shock and being very untethered and that maybe was coming out sideways. I just went for it and it was incredible to be unhinged like that.
Just like “Chuckles the clown”, as Karl says.
I know! I love when she leaves and Tom’s like, ‘What the fuck?’
And after that shock, then in episode four there’s her humiliation of being sent away by Marcia. What can we learn about her state in this scene?
That was a long scene, a sweeping amount of pages. The set was silent when we were filming and it gave me this feeling I think she has of isolation. Where we meet Kerry in this moment, she’s been this impenetrable presence in previous seasons, but we’ve had no entrance to her inner life, or her feelings. She definitely has a point of view but she’s not open or receptive in any way, we start to see her breakdown in this season, from the audition to the death to this scene where she’s really untethered.
We hear her muttering that “there were arrangements” – what did she mean by that and what do you think her end game was?
I imagine Kerry hoped Logan had talked to his lawyers and left a note about their future together… a more formal union, or possibly marriage.
Marriage? There’s also theories swirling around that she could be pregnant, can you comment on that at all?
No [I can’t comment] but... interesting.
Some other fans have picked up that she’s been seen pushing pills on Logan, or administering injections, such as when he has the UTI in series three. What are your thoughts on these suggestions?
Like she’s responsible for his demise? Huh, scary Kerry! I definitely have my opinions around this and it’s interesting to have all these perspectives pop up. The writers are so successful about not handling the audience in any way and giving them anything that they wouldn’t need, there’s no exposition in this storytelling, so I think that’s why these theories pop up.
Now that Kerry’s been kicked to the curb, is she in the rest of the series much? Where does she go from here?
Hmmm… I guess I’d like to leave that [answer] open, but clearly her relationship with Logan is over!
My hunch is that she’s not going to go quietly into the night…
I think she could go a number of different ways. I think she’s a hugely ambitious person and that will align itself again in her but I do think in this moment she's broken and she’s tired. Also the thing she doesn’t get to do is to publicly grieve him. Marcia’s the face of the person who gets to grieve. Marcia and Logan never divorced, and Marcia’s been taken care of and part of that arrangement was to conduct this public display of unity with Logan which is still the story that’s being portrayed publicly. So when you're going through a loss of identity and stability and you’re not allowed to express that… I think that leaves Kerry in a very broken state.
Succession continues weekly on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV
