There is no show on television quite like Succession, which manages to combine Shakespearean melodrama, biting satire, and cynical humor to explore the deep dysfunctions of the Roy family, who control one of the world’s leading media conglomerates. While the Roys obviously occupy the center of the story, what makes Succession such a fascinating show is its ability to craft side characters that are just as compelling, all of whom show their own rich depth and complexity.
Thus, it’s worth taking a look at which of its side characters actually exhibit quite a lot of main character energy.
Frank Vernon
Frank Vernon is an interesting character for a number of reasons. While he seems to be something of a wallflower, he frequently shows just how intimately familiar he is with Logan. This is no surprise, given the fact that he has endured many years at the company. He is clearly a skilled tactician, as he shows repeatedly with his on again/off again alliances with Kendall. Though he may not be the loudest voice in the room, he is still a character and a person worth taking seriously.
Stewy Hosseini
Stewy is arguably one of the smartest characters in the series, and he also happens to be one of its charismatic. Though he is one of Kendall’s oldest friends, the truth is that he has very little loyalty to anyone other than himself and his own interests. He is, then, precisely the type of person who would make a great main character in any other series focusing on the machinations and backstabbing behavior of the wealthy and the powerful.
Willa Ferreyra
As Connor’s girlfriend, Willa can often be seen as something of a nonentity, particularly since no one seems to take her very seriously. However, she often shows flashes of spirit (and sometimes) temper that make her a very ideal candidate as a main character. In particular, her commitment to her art (such as it is), as well as her ability to wrap Connor around her finger whenever she wants to, suggests that there is far to her than might meet the eye.
Caroline Collingwood
There’s no question that Harriet Walter is one of the best guest actors to have appeared on the series, and she grants Caroline an icy hauteur that is in keeping with the type of woman who would marry Logan Roy. Though she only flits into the series for very brief times, she repeatedly shows that she has the same type of main character energy as the rest of the Roys. She is, moreover, a remarkably complicated person, someone who cares for her children but is also willing to sell them out when it comes right down to it.
Gerri Kellerman
Gerri Kellerman is one of the most important employees at the company, but for all of that she is still something of a side character. Nevertheless, she has just as much main character energy as the other members of the cast. She is far more intelligent and savvy than the Roy children, and she is second perhaps only to Logan herself in terms of understanding how power works and how to make the most of it.
If anyone deserves a spinoff in which she is the main character, it would be Gerri.
Marcia Roy
Of all the characters, Marcia is arguably the most enigmatic, and she seems reluctant to reveal too much of herself, even to Logan. However, even though she sometimes hovers in the background, there’s no doubt that she is a powerful and dynamic personality. She may have just married into the family, but she has definitely absorbed the Roy tendency to be ruthless and cut-throat when it comes to anyone who might pose a challenge to her position. As such, she should be seen as one of the series’ most powerful characters.
Lukas Matsson
Alexander Skarsgård has been in many great movies and TV shows, and he makes a very memorable appearance in Succession in its most recent season, playing the character of Lukas Matsson. He is as ruthless and cunning as any of the members of the Roy clan, which is what makes him such a perfect foil for Logan. Given the amount of charisma that Skarsgård always brings to any role he appears in, it is not surprising that he manages to be a character brimming with main character potential.
Ewan Roy
Logan’s most important relationships are obviously with his children, all of whom constantly vie for his attention and praise. However, it’s also true that he has an important relationship with his brother Ewan. Though it’s clear that Ewan despises his brother and everything that he stands for, he is another character that has a lot of main character potential.
James Cromwell makes sure that he becomes something more than a curmudgeon but instead a man driven by his own principles and sense of what is right.
Josh Aaronson
Adrien Brody is another of the notable guest stars that appear in Succession, and he plays yet another person with a great deal of wealth and influence. Though it’s a minor role, Brody makes sure that the viewer understands Josh is another person who is willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead in the world of business. What’s more, given that he is clearly an eccentric, he has exactly the type of personality that would make him a great main character in his own right.
Nan Pierce
If there’s any character that could give Logan competition, it would be Nan Pierce. From the moment she appears, she shows that she has the same kind of drive as Logan, though her politics couldn’t be more different. As the head of her own media company, she would make a great main character, if for no other reason than that it would give Logan someone to repeatedly lock horns with. On the other hand, she is also exactly the type of hard-headed and no-nonsense leader who would also do well as the star in her own series.
