Succession’s enfant terrible Roman Roy always knew how to deliver a childish insult and chase it with a reminder he does, in fact, have a heart. This was Keiran Culkin’s plan of attack during his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes on Sunday night.
“Oh nightmare,” he said while collecting the gold statue. He then swallowed nervously, explaining himself by saying, “Sorry, burping, indigestion… didn’t need to say that.”
Like an expertly plotted dark comedy, Culkin’s speech recovered from its awkward start to deliver an unexpectedly moving story. The actor gave us a potted history of him and the Golden Globes, explaining that he was nominated 20 years ago, and accepted after losing that it had been his only shot. “I still remember thinking, I’m never going to be back in this room again,” he said.
For anyone watching who remembers Culkin in Igby Goes Down, for which he was nominated in 2002, they might recall that he played a sardonic and rebellious teenage boy who now reads a little like an early Roman Roy blueprint. Culkin recalling his younger self on stage is exactly what he did with Roman on Succession: showing us the little boy inside the man.
Kieran Culkin accepts the award for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series Drama for “Succession” at the 81st Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 7, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/Golden Globes 2024/Golden Globes 2024 via Getty Images)Rich Polk/Golden Globes 2024/Getty Images
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
