Nicholas Braun says starring on HBO's 'Succession' made him 'desensitized to luxury'

• Nicholas Braun spoke about how his role as Greg Hirsch on "Succession" has influenced his real life.
• The actor, 33, said filming a series about billionaires has made him "a bit desensitized to luxury."

HBO's "Succession," a show about a Murdoch-esque family of multi-billionaires, has impacted the way actor Nicholas Braun views extreme wealth and opulence.

On the Jesse Armstrong-created series, the 33-year-old actor plays Gregory Hirsch, a character commonly referred to as "Cousin Greg" or "Greg the Egg." His grandfather is media tycoon Logan Roy's brother, giving Greg an opportunity to enter the ultra-wealthy Roy family's orbit.

Suddenly, he's flying private, eating "kind of illegal" ortolan, and sipping rosé on a recently refitted yacht.

Braun is playing a role, of course, but that hasn't stopped him from taking in all of the wide-eyed newcomer's experiences.

"I feel maybe a bit desensitized to luxury," he said during a panel at PaleyFest NY 2021, adding, "It's not quite the same."

"Succession" filming has taken Braun to New York's finest hotels, East Hampton's colossal mansions, the UK's grand castles, Croatia's coastal towns, Italy's sprawling countryside, and beyond. And in season two, Greg gets the keys to a $6.4 million Tribeca apartment, given to him by his cousin Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) after he buys all five of the Shigeru Ban-designed building's units.

"I'll pass a location we shot at in New York. While we were there, I was up in Greg's apartment and could pop right in and it was my place. Then, I walk by that building and I can't get in there now. I can't afford that place myself," Braun said.

He added, "So it's a little bit of this, a little bit of that, but maybe a bit desensitized to it all."

Braun is set to reprise his role as Greg on the show's forthcoming third season, which premieres on October 17. And, much to viewers' delight, there's a lot in store for the Roys' socially awkward relative.

By the end of season two, he's wedged himself in the middle of a burgeoning civil war between Logan and Kendall by providing the latter with documents that could incriminate the former.

Greg's next move is unclear. Will he stick by Kendall's side or go back to supporting Logan? Either way, some "Succession" fans are already rooting for the underdog to surpass the Roy siblings in the running for the company's next CEO.

As for Braun, he hasn't ruled out the possibility of a Greg-led corporation.

"I wouldn't want to destroy the fun of considering all the candidates," he told The New York Times.

He went on, "Greg's got a long way to go. He often gets what he wants, through a mixture of guile and guilelessness. I leave it up to other people to judge whether he's a real succession candidate or not."