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In advance of his own viewing of the finale, Macfadyen broke it all down for us.
We managed for about two and a half seconds and then we just cracked up.
He rarely giggles, so if he goes, thats it.
I had to really concentrate, and I took a smaller bite of the leg.
I ended up with a drumstick, but I had quite a lot of chicken.
Its so batty and odd and soSuccession, that moment.
Toms really at a low ebb.
He thinks,Fuck it, you know?
Tom reaches a point where he cant take it anymore, with Shiv and with the whole family.
Most of the time, Sarah and I cant wait to shoot the scene.
It must be fun to shoot a breakup scene on a lovely beach in the Mediterranean.
Its such a treat that we have these great big family scenes, and often theyre very long scenes.
Its really exciting working with such brilliant actors, cause youre forced to pay attention.
You never really know how much youre featuring in that take of that scene.
It makes you concentrate.
Would Shiv and Tom really get divorced?
What might happen to him if hes on the Roys bad side?
Im pretty passive about it.
They must be tucked into the writers room now, but I dont mind where they decide to go.
You dont worry about what might happen?Because theres nothing I can do.
Hes not my baby.
Its not my character.
Its Jesse Armstrongs and the writers.
When the scripts coming home, then my job starts.
Till then, its out of my hands.
There was a lot of speculation about who theblood sacrificewould be in the finale.
Were you and the cast invested in that?[Laughs.]
Yeah, there was muffled chat about it throughout the preceding episodes.
Someone would say, Oh, Ive heard its this person.
Someone else would say, Well, its definitely not going to be them, it may be you.
We didnt really know until the read-through.
You go, Kendalls gonna take the hit, and then that wonderful final twist.
Its a very satisfying conclusion.
Not one thats so on the waves.
Its an interesting dynamic because it looks like Greg has perhaps gone onto Team Kendall now.
My only selfish worry would be not seeing more of my friend Greg.
My special friend Gregory.
Did you actually stay onboard?We asked, obviously.
It was a joke.
Id almost say it was no imagination required because youre aboard this enormous floating palace.
Its very easy to think,Oh, this is where I vacation.
It has ruined any kind of yacht experience for anybody who was there for the rest of their lives.
All other yachts will be smaller and disappointing.Theyll look a bit mean in comparison.
Such fun, just a silly, silly day of work.
I think properly it was a nod to the British contingent in the writing room.
Before Tom snaps, hes dopily trying to go along with everything the Roys suggest on the yacht.
What was it like playing that?He really tries to yo.
He tries to be a good guy and wants to be popular and wants to be useful.
Slightly unhinged, but its wonderful.
Speaking of those swerves, theres a debate in our office about whetherSuccessionis a drama or a comedy.
What side do you fall on?Well, the actors job is to play everything dead straight.
The situation is funny, but life is funny.
Life is a farce.
Look at the clown in the White House.
You couldnt make it up.
So I would always err on the side of saying its a drama with jokes.
Life is inherently preposterous and scary.
Is that still the case?Shes a good wife, very loyal!
She has been working her socks off, so she hasnt been watching.
