SPOILER ALERT: You should not read this if you have not seen the seventh episode. “Succession”Season 3: Title “Too Much Birthday.”
An easy, comically tall target for jokes at his expense, Greg doesn’t get to celebrate many victories in “Succession,” but at Kendall’s 40th birthday party, he finally notches a win and asks out Comfry, Kendall’s PR consultant. With so many failed or strained relationships on the show — just look at Tom and Shiv, Kendall and Rava, Connor and Willa, Roman and Gerri — Greg and Comfry could be the start of a new power couple.
Throughout Season 3, Greg (Nicholas Braun) has shot glances at Comfry (Dasha Nekrasova) and attempted to flirt with her in his own awkward Greg way, but hasn’t made a move. Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) both said she’s out of Greg’s league, but in the seventh episode, titled “Too Much Birthday,” he finally musters up the courage to ask her out, although there’s a clear conflict of interest as Comfry may have to burn Greg to the Department of Justice as Kendall continues his battle against Waystar.
Tom and Greg’s toxic relationship also hits new highs and lows in “Too Much Birthday.” After learning that he won’t go to prison, Tom flips over Greg’s desk in destructive celebration, as Greg stands back in a mix of genuine fear and shock. Later, as he walked through the a “compliment tunnel” at Kendall’s party, Tom’s joy turns to ire and jealousy when he realizes that Greg is happier than him after asking out Comfry.
Here, Braun tellsVariety about the future of Tom and Greg’s relationship, Greg and Comfry’s date and how much has changed about playing the character since Season 1.
Is Greg able to see Comfry as a romantic relationship? Or is it a way to get power against Kendall?
He wants to fight Kendall, or at least get something like Kendall. He’s always taking care of people’s feelings or making sure this is OK or that’s OK, and this is a moment of, “Fuck it, I’m going to do something I want right now.” Greg also hasn’t found anything that’s a kind relationship where it makes him feel good, so I think he just needs this.
Would Comfry still have said yes if Greg hadn’t said Kendall disapproved of it? Does she do it to revenge Kendall?
I think there’s some actual interest from Comfry. I don’t think it’s all just to get back at Kendall, but I think that’s a big part of it. Because of his delusion, she is miserable working alongside him. She was giving me compliments on my wrists earlier in the season, and there’s a little flicker of something real.
Greg and her first date would be in a place they could both go.
She’s a PR girl, so he probably projects onto her that she’s cultured. So, I bet he tries to take her to a play that he’s heard is really great, but it ends up being boring to both of them. Maybe they leave at intermission and they go get some donuts because he probably has a favorite donut place, but it’s very cheap. He seems to eat donuts almost every day, I think.
How many times did it take to master the desk flipping scene?
Matthew was granted permission to do anything he wanted. The desk was the only thing that Matthew was allowed to use. They took photos of the desk before it was destroyed, and then they attempted to set it up again. We didn’t do it many times because that scene is so much about whatever Matthew’s instincts want to do. He was amazing, even though it wasn’t much planned. In rehearsal, we’re talking about it and wondering, “Is this gonna work?”Matthew starts to get emotional as soon as we begin filming. I enjoyed being part of it, and how it made me feel.
Where does Tom and Greg’s toxic relationship go from here? Greg will he ever see the need to cut Tom from his life?
There’s always that question for Greg — “Why am I enduring this?”You just want someone to hold you and be like in this world. “Hey, come this way.” Kendall was doing that for a while, and Logan has done that from time to time, but Tom is the most consistent person who’s like, “Come do this, Greg, and just trust me.”Greg may reach a breaking point very soon. Tom keeps him sane every time.
In Episode 6, Greg asked Tom for his support if he is burned by DOJ. Was that a power shift between them?
It’s really sweet that Tom does this for him. It’s also like Tom has a softer side and maybe he’s losing his edge. That probably is a nice development for Greg — “I can manipulate Tom a little bit if I wanted to.”
What would happen if Greg and Tom were to share a cell in prison?
I think they’d work really well together. Perhaps Tom would be annoyed that Greg would form a bond and be with a stronger gang. Greg would probably end up with some really tough guys and Tom would end-up with tax evaders. Greg would tell them that they come back to the same room every night. “Oh yeah, my boy shanked somebody today,”Tom would go. “Well, I played dominoes.”They could find it very difficult.
What’s your favorite line from this season?
There’s a line in Episode 6, “I just got called a ‘soy boy’ by some guy with an undercut.”It was a nice line. There’s one of my favorite Greg moments in the whole season, where he speaks up about Connor not being fit for the president job. It’s not such a funny line, but a line I was happy to have for Greg. He’s not just gonna go with it because he’s supposed to, he’s gonna say something real here.
What’s been the biggest change in how you’ve portrayed Greg from Season 1?
Try to bring a different energy into the room. Maybe a more relaxed attitude. He’s standing a bit taller. It felt great to see Greg as a puppy dog, eager to learn, in the room. As this season progressed, it was a pleasure to see him more confident and open to speaking from his chest. Talk a bit more like. “I know what I think.” Hopefully that continues to grow, otherwise he wouldn’t survive. Eventually you get cut out of this world if you can’t speak up for yourself. That’s what I’ve tried to bring into it, just a stronger spine and give him an energy that others might start to respect in the room, as opposed to “What’s Greg doing here?” He does get included in that very small group in Episode 6, so there’s something Logan is feeling from him that he wants to include him in these moments.
Do you believe Greg has the potential to one day be a CEO?
Yeah, I think everyone’s corruptible.
“Succession”On HBO, Sundays at 9 PM.