Sarah Snook Reveals She Originally Turned Down the Role of Shiv on 'Succession'

Sarah Snook almost wasn’t Shiv on Succession.

The 34-year-old actress opened up about that while she portrays the character now, she actually turned down the role at first.

Click inside to read why Sarah Snook originally turned down the role…

“When I first got offered the role, I said no,” Sarah told Variety. “If the world is going to be interested in a bunch of white dudes talking about business, and if I’m the only woman in that, then I’m likely to get sidelined and be like some sort of prop. I don’t feel like that personally, nor do I feel like I want to compete for that. No, I don’t want to do this job, and then it came back again.”

She went on, saying that it was “through blind faith [that], I thought, ‘Well, the creatives are interesting. You may be one of the only women in the pilot, but that doesn’t mean that you’re going to get sidelined necessarily and maybe this is an opportunity for you to just fight for female characters.’”

Sarah points out that Succession has “a focus lens toward that kind of sexism,” in part to mirror the real world.

“It is present in the show because it’s present in real life, it’s there, and that’s inherent in the characters’ behavior, as well as the things they say. There is so much sexism and so much misogyny against you just having an opinion because you’re a woman. It’s so frustrating but brilliant to play with and chew on.”

Playing Shiv for three seasons now, she adds, that it has changed her perception of herself.

“Because she is wealthy and because she is entitled and because of all these circumstances of her birth, she feels the right to be anywhere,” Sarah says. “That’s a really important distinction, often women can come into a room and feel like they’re not necessarily meant to be there but if you just pretend you are and you feel like you are meant to be and for Shiv, that’s like the circumstance of her family and upbringing.”

Sarah’s co-star, Brian Cox, recently opened up about the one thing he doesn’t like fans asking him.