Emmy nominee profile: Arian Moayed (‘Succession’) nabs second nomination as savvy ‘puppet master’ Stewy

After earning the first Emmy nomination of his career last year for his hilariously shrewd character Stewy on “Succession,” Arian Moayed has nabbed his second bid for Drama Guest Actor for the final season of the acclaimed HBO series. The actor has been a staple member of the ensemble for all four seasons, an old friend of Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) who has been both an ally and rival as he’s gone from trying to take over the company with other backers to one of its most influential board members.

Moayed is once again nominated alongside his fellow “Succession” guest star James Cromwell. Aside from the two of them, the category is made up of performers from “The Last of Us”: Murray Bartlett, Lamar Johnson, Nick Offerman, and Keivonn Montreal Woodard.

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When Moayed competed last year for the first time, he had an uphill battle as three other “Succession” actors also vied for the trophy, including Adrien Brody, Cromwell, and Alexander Skarsgård. With Skarsgård now competing in Supporting Actor and Brody not returning for the fourth season, Moayed and Cromwell have much less internal competition, and either could benefit as a result. The amount of internal competition for the “Last of Us” actors could also aid the “Succession” duo, even though Bartlett and Offerman starred in one of the most acclaimed episodes of the season. While Cromwell has the showy episode “Church and State,” Moayed appeared in almost half of the episodes from the entire run of “Succession,” so supporters of the series may wish to vote for the recurring, fan favorite character.

Moayed submitted the episode “Honeymoon States” on the Emmy ballot, in which Stewy wields his power to affect the future of Waystar Royco. The episode takes place the day after Logan Roy’s (Brian Cox) shocking death as his children Kendall, Shiv (Sarah Snook), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Connor (Alan Ruck) gather in his penthouse to grieve, while the company executives vote to name an interim CEO.

SEE How far ahead is ‘Succession’ in the Emmy race for Best Drama Series?

Although he is in the background of many ensemble scenes, Moayed has two big moments in the episode. The first is a funny and moving one-on-one with Emmy-winner Strong. When the two friends and frequent business partners and rivals greet one another, Stewy gets a chuckle out of Kendall when he jokes that Logan died when he heard about Kendall’s deal to buy the news outlet Pierce and “choked laughing.” Kendall’s laughter quickly turns to tears, and Stewy lends Kendall his shoulder while he breaks down. They quickly get down to brass tacks, though, when Kendall asks Stewy to back him in his bid to become the next CEO. Moayed plays their negotiation with a degree of disbelief at Kendall’s maneuvers during this somber day, but Stewy has no problem playing hardball with Ken so he doesn’t end up burned again. The actor walks the fine line of the tone of the scene with aplomb.

Stewy also plays a pivotal role in the outcome of the CEO vote, as Kendall invites him into the room with the Waystar executives to try to sway the proceedings. While the old guard prefers not to appoint any of the Roy children to the important position of power, Stewy throws his opinion and weight into the discussion, arguing that Logan was the founder of the company and seems to have wanted Kendall to take the throne. He also fends off accusations that he would be Kendall and Roman’s “puppet master.” Moayed brings such confidence and swagger to the scene as the sharp Stewy that it’s no wonder Emmy voters were drawn to his performance once again.

This article is part of Gold Derby’s “Emmy nominee profile” series spotlighting the 2023 acting contenders.

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