When Arian Moayed greets theater-goers at the stage door after A Dolls House on Broadway, some fans have just one thing on their minds: You wanna go do some coke? Wheres the bathroom? Sniff Sniff! Moayed says with a laugh. I think Im averaging one coke joke a week.
Moayed himself isnt known for a coke habit, of course but Stewy Hosseini, his wise-cracking equity investor on HBOs Succession, doesnt shy away from doing a little blow.
Its been really exciting to be in something everyone really loves, Moayed says. Im a fan of Succession. I know Im on the show, but all of us are fans!
With Succession set to take its final bow on May 28, the Tony-nominated actor, whose film You Hurt My Feelings hits theaters this weekend, spoke with Variety over Zoom to reflect on Stewys best moments and how his career trajectory has changed since joining the cast in 2018.
What do you remember about your audition process for the show?
I actually tested for the pilot. I didnt get the pilot, and a year goes by and theyre like, Theres this other character named Stewy. And I said, The truth is, whatever I did, for the last time, Im just going to do that same idea with these words, because I dont have two douchebag hedge fund ideas.
I think HBO didnt really know exactly what they wanted, and so there were some questions of what the character should be. We tried something else, then I tried my version of it. As I was doing that version, I could feel that there was more energy. The audition ended, and I got a call at midnight: Youve been cast. They need you tomorrow morning at 5am.
When I read that pilot, I thought it was really special for numerous reasons. But I also didnt know what the hell I was reading. I wasnt sure what this was. It wasnt until we were in England shooting the wedding episodes in which we get to see everyone else be a complete asshole, that Im like, Is anyone gonna get what were doing?
The show tows the line between comedy and drama so much, I imagine it was hard to picture the final product when you were just reading it on the page.
I googled Peep Show, Jesse Armstrongs first big series, just to get a sense of what kind of characters these are. They were such real people that it led me to be like, I dont know if this is a comedy. I dont know if this is a drama, but I can be real and say the words and see how that goes. And thats kind of what ended up happening with all of us, really.
When did you realize Stewy would be a mainstay on the series?
We were shooting the donut scene. First thing, I forgot that Jeremys in character as Kendall. I forgot that hes like that. And then I was looking at the cameras and Im like, Are those film canisters? Theyre like, Oh, yeah, we shoot on film. The moment that you hear that, you cant all of a sudden be like, Hey, let me redo that! Now its like a theater game.
I felt comfortable. I felt very easy. I felt I knew the words. I felt I knew Jeremy; I felt I knew it all. And I felt I knew this is an old friend. After the first take, I mean this, I kind of got a sense that it was a little bit of a home run.
There were takes where I was trying to shoot a donut into the trash like Michael Jordan. I remember that evening, both Jeremy and Jesse reached out, and they said, Theres a lot more stuff for us. You should do a lot more stuff. Part of my job as someone thats a guest, or someone thats recurring on these things, is to elevate my partner. Im supposed to make his shit look good.
I asked Jesse later in Season 2, In the writers room, did you imagine that Stewy was still gonna be around? Hes like, Not at all.
Peter Kramer/HBO Lets dive into that Kendall and Stewy relationship. Does Stewy actually like Kendall? Weve seen him support Kendall in his lowest moments, but weve also seen him in direct opposition.
100%, Stewy is a friend to Kendall. I think that he will back him when he needs to back him. He will listen to him when he needs listen to him. He will even stop him from doing more drugs. Stewy, on that night of the car accident, obviously he had drugs. But hes like, I dont think you need more drugs, bro. We have a big day tomorrow. I got so much hate after that. Theyre like, Its Stewys fault! I was like, Stewys fault? Jesus!
But the thing is that Stewy will always take money first. Truthfully, he wishes that Kendall would do the same. Hes always bogged down with these bullshit backstories. Hes like, I dont care about any of that. Im here to make money, and youre here to make money, and we should try to make money together. Thats the point of this. I think people think of that as backstabbing. I think of that as the world that they live in.
Is it really backstabbing when hes completely upfront about his intentions?
He says it over and over: after Stewy doesnt vote for Kendall, they meet at the basketball court and hes like, I love you, man, but I had to follow the money. You know, hes the son that Logan always wanted. Hes just more interested in winning than anything else. I think its actually pretty healthy that Stewy can still do both those things: I could still be your friend, but at the end of the day, Im gonna go for whatever is the bottom line.
I read a comment on YouTube that said, Stewy is just Kendall with 100% more self awareness. Do you see it that way?
Yes, totally. Thats such a great point! For the 40th birthday party, Jesse asked me earlier in the season, Do you think Stewy would be there? I was like, Is the party going to be lame? Or is it going to be cool? He says, It might be pretty lame. Stewy can tell when he gets the invite! If he gets an invite that says Kendall is going to be singing a tune, hed be like, No, Im not doing that.
Have you kept up with the rabid fandom the series has built, especially on platforms like TikTok? People there seem to love the idea of Kendall and Stewy together.
Oh my God. Oh my God! Kendall and Stewy. Can I say something that might get a little high-falutin here? I think the cool thing about art and artists is that if you can go and tell the fucking truth as best you can, people are going to fill in the rest with their narrative. God bless, do it, man! Whos to say it isnt? Ive never once thought of it that way, but there are so many fans that are so about it who am I to say? Thats what fandom is, isnt it?
Do you have any favorite Stewy one-liners?
I do love, Everyone fucking hates you. The way that it comes out is kind of respectful? One of my favorites is one I cant even fucking say: Youre gonna cut my dick off and shove it up your cunt like poo poo comes out of your nose holes? I remember saying to Jesse, I wont be able to deliver these lines. Thats a real fun one. I also love the scene with Kendall and Stewy this season when he says, I kind of got my pubes singed last time I went with you.
Macall Polay / HBO I know you cant reveal what happens in the finale, but what was it like the day you filmed your last scenes as Stewy?
The last week of shooting Succession was tech week for A Dolls House on Broadway. I did three days of 4 am to 1 pm on Succession, and then 2 pm to midnight on A Dolls House. So that week was emotional just in itself.
The saddest part was just the people. We were all super sad. The crew, the cast, the hangs, the long days of being an extra in the back and still loving it thats the stuff youre gonna miss. I was pretty sad, and the only thing I could think to myself was, Dont cry when they say its a wrap.
Did you?
I definitely did cry. But I was holding it in. I didnt even know what to say. I had that shower talk with myself like, Ive got to tell Jesse this, Ive gotta tell Mark [Mylod] this. And all I said was just, Thank you. It really changed my life, and it gave me the personal confidence to move forward in that kind of realm. So much of that is Jesse.
Do you think audiences will be pleased with the ending?
As we were reading all the scripts, it became very clear that we are in the midst of and I hate to say this, because the word is overused but we are in the midst of a genius who knows exactly how to make this satisfying. The ending of this series is very satisfying. Its kind of stunning, really.
How have you seen your career change since being cast as Stewy?
Prior to Succession, I only played Middle Easterners. Middle Easterners in turmoil. I was in Iraq, I was in Palestine, I was an Israeli, I was Irani. And then all of a sudden, with Stewy, now I play assholes. Different versions of assholes or mean guys! Its given me so many more opportunities to be seen. It gives me an opportunity to be seen as an actor that can do comedy. When youre a Middle Eastern actor, they mostly throw you in drama. By doing something like this and being in such a hit show, it gives you an opportunity to spread your wings, and try all these other things.
In 2005, I got signed by a big agency, and I said to them that I wasnt going to play terrorists. You know what happened? I just didnt work. It was hard to convince people and Stewy is a perfect example of this its hard to convince people that Iranians run Silicon Valley.
The task is just to see us as regular and not being defined by Islam or the Middle East or some sort of war. Were defined by a bunch of other things. I moved to the city in 2002, and I thought I would do regional theater for the rest of my life. Why? Because where would I be in film and TV? Now, hopefully the door can be open to a bunch of other people trying some shit.
This interview has been edited and condensed.