Matthew Macfadyen, who stars as Tom Wamsgans on the hit series Succession, recently spoke out about where his character ranks in the ruthless Roy family.
In an interview with Deadline at the premiere of the highly anticipated fourth season, the actor opened up about Tom’s place in the pecking order of the clan.
“They have a trial separation, Tom and Shiv, they’re in a bit of a bad spot. They haven’t really talked about it. [Tom is ] also slightly shaken with Logan as well. Logan blows hot and cold, and he’s not sure that he’s put all his eggs in the right basket. Most of the time, Tom is always, on shaky ground.”
Tom has experienced the most significant transformation of any character in the show. However, as his star seems to be rising in terms of his influence, the success seems to be at the expense of his conscience.
When we first encounter Tom, he is a minor player in the series. But as the show progresses, Shiv humiliates him one too many times, and he evolves into a treacherous, self-serving climber who cunningly seeks to ingratiate himself with Logan, a prominent business tycoon.
Eventually, his ambition sees him blithely sell out his wife and brothers-in-law, Kendell (Jeremy Strong) and Roman (Kieran Culkin). Tom tells Logan about the siblings’ plans to undermine a merger between the family business Royco and another company.
The stakes have never been higher for anybody in the constellation of the Roy clan. The battle to seize the reins is more cutthroat than ever, and Tom has become a dark horse in the race. The fourth and final season of Succession promises to be the most intriguing one yet. Though the series is ending, there are whispers that it may yield a spinoff or two.
The final season of Succession will premiere on March. 24 on HBO.
