‘Succession’ Star Alan Ruck on Connor’s Presidential Ambitions in Season 3
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Succession, Season 3, Episode 6, “What It Takes.”]
The Roys got political in Succession‘s latest episode, “What It Takes,” which saw them attend the Future Freedom Summit.
The event serves as grounds for determining the front-running presidential candidates, and one family member has a name in mind. Connor Roy (Alan Ruck) is sticking to his political ambitions as he continued his presidential campaign at the Virginia-based gathering. While new opponents surfaced, the least acknowledged Roy had a few moments in the spotlight of what could be a potentially promising future, even if father Logan (Brian Cox) and siblings Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook) don’t support him.
Below, Ruck opens up about Connor’s ambitions, hopes for the future, the deepening bond between his character and Willa (Justine Lupe), and much more.
(Credit: HBO)
This season, we’ve seen Connor insert himself in situations to try and maintain a level of importance. Is it because he wants to be taken seriously as a candidate by his family or because he truly wants to have an integral role within their familial circle?
Alan Ruck: Yeah. I like how when everybody talks about Connor’s journey, they laugh a little bit. There’s always a giggle. It’s all about winning the old man’s approval and I think if you talk to Jeremy or Kieran, or Sarah, they’ll say the same thing. It really is the prime motivator. Not a lot of affection in this family. Lots of money, lots of material things, not a lot of support. You’re kind of on your own. So, I think that’s what we all want. Everything that Connor is trying to do in this season, even when he seems to be maybe butting heads with Logan, or going against Logan’s wishes… the end game is always to win the old man’s love. It’s really sad.
Thankfully, it’s also entertaining, as sad as it is for all of them, it’s very entertaining to watch.
That’s it. It’s a trainwreck.
The family attends a the Future Freedom Summit to try and find the next presidential candidate. Do you think Connor is aware most of his family has no intention of backing him in his endeavor to run?
I think it’s really pretty obvious. Connor’s pushed a lot of this stuff down for many years, but it’s as plain this day that it’s like, “You’re foolish. Please stop talking.” I mean, that’s basically, “We can’t kill you because you’re our brother, but please shut up.” So, it becomes increasingly obvious that they have no intention of [supporting him]. As the old man said at the end of last season, “You’re f**king embarrassing me.” I think in the future, Connor’s going to figure some ways around his father and the family to do what he wants to whether they like it or not.
(Credit: HBO)
Connor has claimed for a while that he has a strong political following — “Conheads” — but we actually got to see this in action for the first time in the episode. Do you think Connor’s surprised to meet fans at the summit?
I think it’s a happy surprise and it just reassures him that he’s on the right track. I think he’s just like, “See? It’s working. It’s working.”
Connor and Willa’s relationship is mostly transactional, but she stood by him in this episode. Is their bond deepening more than viewers realize?
Well, I think Connor is definitely in love with Willa. I mean, Connor’s never had a proper relationship in his life. It’s always been transactional. If he needed something, he bought it. And nobody ever taught this boy how to go on a date. He’s never known how to ask a girl out, so he’s a little crippled that way. But when he met Willa, he was like, “You need money? I need a girlfriend. This is great. It’s just perfect.” And I think as time goes on, she’s got a lot of reasons to be trepidatious, because it is a business arrangement, at least that’s the way it started out, and she’s trying to keep it a business arrangement.
And then there’s this horrid family that just is really cruel to her. They’re very mean to her, and I could see why she’d just be like, “I can’t live with that, even if I like Connor, I can’t be a part of that family.” But, I think I’m growing on her because I’m actually very sweet to her in my own Connor way.
(Credit: HBO)
The Roys throw their support towards interesting potential candidates. How will that impact Connor moving forward?
I think he’s sort of a wild card and I’m hoping he drums up enough support at the convention, so they have to take him seriously. Maybe it’s like there are two people that are sort of neck and neck, and then I’m holding all these votes or these potential delegates in my little corner and they have to come to me. Stranger things have happened in this world. I think that could be pretty interesting. Connor doesn’t really live on the same planet as everybody else. He’s got his own bubble and his own worldview. And so I think, he considers other candidates to be foolish, and just part of the machine and not forward-thinking as he is.
What do you think that would look like if Connor was in that position of power? Would he use it wisely or abuse it?
Well, I mean, this is yet to be seen and we all have certain character traits and defects, but I think Connor might be surprising in that situation. He might come to the realization that he’s in a place of power and he might take it nice and slow, and let people stumble all over themselves trying to win his favor.
Connor’s been trying to get a job at Waystar all season. Can you tease whether or not he’ll get a gig?
I don’t know how much I can say, but, he has certain things that he wants to do [and there are] certain standards that he feels need to be met. Other people in the family don’t feel that this is appropriate, because he has no experience doing anything. So, we’ll see what happens.
Succession, Season 3, Sundays, 9/8c, HBO
