‘Succession’ actor Justin Kirk on Season 4 cut scenes: ‘Sometimes they use it, sometimes they don’t’

Christopher Rosen
·4 min read
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Much to the chagrin of many of the show’s characters, far-right Republican candidate Jeryd Mencken (Justin Kirk) was elected president on the latest episode of “Succession,” a political ascent that started when Mencken was hand-picked as the Republican candidate by Logan Roy (Brian Cox) six months previously in the drama’s timeline (but back in Season 3 for viewers at home). 

“America Decides,” the antepenultimate episode of “Succession” landed with a bang on Sunday night, with many viewers left drained by the intense hour that bore great similarities to election nights in 2016 and 2020. The eighth episode also marked Kirk’s first appearance of the season – although the guest actor was credited in the season’s seventh episode despite only appearing in a still photograph. It was the actor’s first time speaking on the show since Season 3.

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“The very last shot of [Season 3, Episode 6, my first episode on ‘Succession’] is me staring at Brian Cox after taking a picture with him, so it felt good as a possibility,” Kirk told Variety in an interview published Sunday night about his hopes for returning to the HBO show. “But I didn’t know for sure, and nor did I know that I would be elected president.”

While Mencken hadn’t fully appeared at all in Season 4 until Sunday night, the character has been referenced numerous times. Fans also probably noticed Kirk in the Season 4 trailer that HBO released back in March – particularly in an interaction with Alan Ruck, who plays fellow presidential candidate Connor Roy. “Still clinging to your slice of the pie,” Kirk as Mencken says in a scene that viewers now know occurred during Logan’s memorial service in episode four but was cut from the finished episode.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, “Succession” political consultant Eric Schultz, cited that episode while explaining how carefully creator Jesse Armstrong and his team wanted to adhere to reality in how Mencken’s presidential campaign was portrayed throughout the season. 

“In episode four, when they talk of the presidential candidate [Jeryd] Mencken coming to Logan’s home, they asked what the security footprint would be for a stop like that—for Secret Service for a presidential candidate. I sort of walked them through what that would look like, and you would call this an OTR stop—one that’s not previously announced,” Schultz said. “And so we talked about it, and then they said, ‘Okay, fine, but what kind of vests would the dogs wear?’ And I was like, ‘I will have to get back to you on that.’”

Kirk, who is an Emmy contender for Best Drama Guest Actor, could appear in the show’s penultimate episode next week – Logan’s funeral. In the promo for the episode, Kirk is shown attending the ceremony. But speaking to Variety, Kirk said he had no idea if that would still happen.

“It’s not even what I can or can’t say. I don’t know! I know what we shoot, and sometimes they use it and sometimes they don’t,” he said when asked what he could tease about the remaining episodes. “That’s the nature of making a television show — you do all the stuff and they put it together afterward. To be honest, I’m much more ‘Succession’ viewer than participator at this stage. It’s fun to see what ends up where.”

“Succession” airs Sundays on HBO.

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