Sometimes, fact and fiction can intertwine. A new interview with Succession star Sarah Snook revealed how her real-life pregnancy played a part in Shiv Roy's Season 4 arc.
In a new lengthy interview with Variety, it was revealed that a Shiv pregnancy arc was always considered by Jesse Armstrong and the writers. However, they scrapped the idea due to the crew needing to use prosthetics — something Armstrong was against. “Any extra layer that you have to put in in terms of prosthetics, or pretending, is a layer,” Armstrong told Variety.
But when it turned out that Snook was actually pregnant, it made it a lot easier for the Succession writers to utilize that in their story. It”wasn't a planned thing,” as Snook noted in her interview.
Shiv's pregnancy is a vital part of Succession's fourth season. It's revealed in the fourth episode that she is pregnant — something she hides from Tom (Matthew Macfayden) and her brothers.
The fourth season of Succession was full of twists, but perhaps none more surprising than the off-camera reveal of Snook's pregnancy. Snook revealed that she was caught off-guard by the finale's bombshell ending in the same interview.
Sarah Snook was one of the standout performers in every season of Succession. Her performance in Season 4 earned her the third Emmy nomination of her career. Some of her film credits include Steve Jobs, The Glass Castle, An American Pickle, Pieces of a Woman, Run Rabbit Run, and The Beanie Babie. She's also an accomplished stage actress and will return to West End for a production of The Picture of Dorian Gray in 2024.