Did Succession's Jeremy Strong Really Drink That Disgusting Smoothie?

The "Succession" series finale delivers more than its fair share of memorable moments. Not only does the climactic episode see Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook) all end up in similar professional positions, but it also gives characters like Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) and Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun) the chance to seize new opportunities for themselves. Before the Roy siblings inevitably split apart in the episode's final third, though, the "Succession" finale lets the three characters briefly come together.

Early on in the episode, Kendall, Roman, and Shiv all reunite at their mother's home in the Caribbean. While there, Shiv discovers that Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) intends to betray her, which leads to her and Roman anointing Kendall the new "king" of Waystar Royco. Moments later, Shiv and Roman force Kendall to eat a "meal fit for a king," which turns out to be a smoothie containing, among other ingredients, bread, cheese, pickles, tabasco, eggs, and a little bit of Shiv's own spit. Kendall, for his part, not only drinks a portion of the smoothie but lets Roman dump the rest of it on his head.

Lest viewers think otherwise, Jeremy Strong has confirmed that he did, indeed, drink the very same smoothie viewers watch Roman and Shiv concoct, too. The actor revealed as much during an appearance on "HBO's Succession Podcast," telling the show's host, "We did it only a few times and I went outside and wretched and jumped in the ocean and washed it off my hair and, yeah, I did drink it."

Jeremy Strong's method acting has been a point of conversation for several years now, so it may not come as much of a surprise to some viewers that he actually drank Roman and Shiv's disgusting smoothie in the "Succession" series finale. When it comes to why he chose to drink the smoothie, though, Strong explained, "I wouldn't know how not to drink it. [Kendall] wants [to be CEO] that badly that he's going to drink whatever that is, but it was disgusting." 

As gross as filming that specific scene in the "Succession" finale may have been, it sounds like Strong had a lot of fun filming Kendall's unofficial anointment. In fact, the actor admitted during his recent appearance on "HBO's Succession Podcast" that the finale's smoothie scene was one of the rare moments when he felt like he could enjoy getting to act with Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin. "It was wonderful. It was one of those times when I really felt allowed to really just enjoy [myself]," Strong recalled. "Kieran and Sarah and I have been through so much together. I love them so much. I respect them so much. Their work this season has just blown me away, but often Kendall is at variance with them."

Obviously, the peace that exists between Kendall, Roy, and Shiv in the "Succession" finale's late-night kitchen scene doesn't last long. In all likelihood, viewers will be speculating about the siblings' collective future for some time, too. However, those same viewers can at least take comfort in the knowledge that they weren't the only ones who enjoyed getting to see the Roy siblings let loose and have fun together one last time.