Over one month after Succession fans were shocked by Logan Roy’s death in the third episode of Season 4, series star Brian Cox, 76, revealed his thoughts on his character’s early exit in the final season. While chatting with BBC Two on May 24, about the season shocker, the UK native explained that he felt “rejected” having been killed off early in the season. “It was an odd feeling,” he shared. “I looked on it, wrongly, as a form of rejection. I was fine with it ultimately, but I did feel a little bit rejected. I felt a little bit, ‘oh, all the work I’ve done. And finally I’m going to end up as a New Yorker on a carpet of a plane’.”
More so, Brian felt that Logan’s exit came on a bit suddenly. “He [Jesse Armstrong] decided to make Logan die, I think ultimately too early,” he said. “I mean, he’d made him die in the third episode.” Despite his feelings, Brian still applauded series creator, Jesse, 52, for his work on the scene. “And it was a great scene,” the actor added, in part. “But I just thought, ‘wow’, you know, he did it brilliantly. It was a brilliant scene, the whole act.”
Although Logan’s death took place over one month ago, Brian admitted that he still has not watched the somber episode. “That’s why I didn’t watch it, because I have no interest in watching. My own death will come soon enough,” the 76-year-old revealed. When asked if he thought to share his personal feelings about the scene with Jesse, Brian noted that we did not want to interfere with the creator’s plans. “No, I didn’t. There’s no point going down that road, especially with somebody like Jesse, because he’s already made a plan,” he quipped.
In a separate interview with the same outlet, Brian’s co-star J Smith-Cameron (Gerri) revealed that she thought the show could easily go on without Logan. “Those of us who didn’t play Roys, we still felt like we’re very full storylines… you could have several more seasons about the world of Succession,” the 65-year-old said of the series. “But I think from Jesse’s point of view, he was trying to literally address the topic of succession in that family.”
Brian also explained to viewers why they must continue to watch the show even though Logan is no longer there. “They [fans] said, ‘no, I’m not going to watch anymore. You’ve gone, I’m not watching’,” he told BBC. “Which I think is unfortunate and unnecessary because the show is about the succession. So you need to see what’s happening in in the wake of his demise. But, you know, I’m not the writer.” Brian starred in the series alongside Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, and Kieran Culkin, from 2018 until his character was killed off in Apr. 2023. Succession‘s fourth and final season will come to a close on May 28, with the episode titled “With Open Eyes.”