James Cromwell has done Ewan Roy proud. Fresh off his character’s scene-stealing speech on Sunday night’s episode of “Succession,” the actor who plays Logan Roy’s (Brian Cox) humble and morally conscious brother thanked the show’s writers for his big moment and expressed solidarity with the WGA strike.
“It begins with the words,” Cromwell wrote on Twitter. “Nothing happens without them. Sometimes, the writing achieves transcendence, but, in every case, it’s seminal. I got to a give a brilliant speech recently, which not only explicated my and my brother’s characters, it illuminated an entire narrative. This is what great writers do. And they need to be compensated in accordance with their contribution.”
Cromwell went on to say that “at the very least” writers “need to be able to provide for themselves and their families.”
“In this era of corporate greed and union busting, management seems to hold all the cards. Except for the most important ones: Unity; Solidarity; Fraternity,” Cromwell added. “All of us win when the writers win. And we will win. Union! Strike!”
There is no such thing as a bad actor on “Succession,” but for the past four seasons Cromwell has been routinely overshadowed by his co-stars. As the Roy children schemed, cursed and backstabbed, Ewan has often been relegated to the corner as he judges his young brother’s family and preaches there is another, more ethical way to live life.
His role on the sidelines changed in “Church and State,” which saw Ewan deliver a eulogy for his brother. As Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) scrambled to find the impossible line between heartwarming and stock-boosting, Ewan charged forward against their wishes and told the truth. He spoke openly about his and Logan’s traumatizing childhood around the time of World War II as well as their sister’s death. But while he cast his late brother in a sympathetic light, he also refused to let Logan off the hook, saying that his brother “has wrought some of the most terrible things.” Ewan’s brutal honesty ultimately prompt’s Kendall and Shiv’s powerful speeches.
Known for his work as a character actor, Cromwell won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his role in “American Horror Story: Asylum” and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for “Babe.” He’s also starred in “The Green Mile,” “Star Trek: First Contact,” “Six Feet Under,” “Boardwalk Empire” and “The Young Pope.”
