Succession’s Kieran Culkin Reveals Sarah Snook Is His Son’s Godmother

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Kieran Culkin Explains Why His Kids Won’t Watch the ‘Home Alone’ Movies (Exclusive)

Kieran Culkin loves his ludicrously capacious friendship with Sarah Snook.

After all, the Emmy winner shared more insight into his family's relationship with his Succession costar, including her bond with his and his wife Jazz Charton's 3-year-old son Wilder.

"She's my son's godmother," Kieran told Colman Domingo in the Dec. 18 episode of Variety's Actors on Actors, "and one of my favorite people in the world."

However, Sarah—who shares a daughter with husband Dave Lawson—living in Australia has made it harder to keep in touch regularly.

"I'm not the best with the phone thing," Kieran, who is also dad to his and Jazz's 5-year-old daughter Kinsey, admitted. "I always relied on the fact that there was going to be another season."

But it's also no surprise that the 42-year-old—who starred as her brother Roman Roy in the HBO series for four seasons from 2018 to 2023—picked his costar for the honor. In fact, he revealed that his offscreen relationship with Sarah, 37, was much like two siblings.

"There would be times, just for fun, I would take her line, and then give her a little side-eye," Kieran explained to Colman. "Then the scene would go on, and when it was my line, she would take mine and go, 'Got you, b--ch.'"

Although the duo often poke fun at one another onset, he recalled their heartfelt conversion before filming some final scenes of Succession.

"She goes, 'Are you ready to cry?'" he recalled. "'No one's ever going to cast the two of us in anything. We're never going to work together again.' I just bawled. When you're on a show like that, and we play brother-sister, people will always make that comparison. So she's probably right."

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It's especially comforting to have Sarah in his life since he explained that those closest to him are his wife and kids. He simply added, "That's it." And while Roman was never Logan Roy's No. 1 boy, Kieran loves being a No. 1 dad to his daughter and son. As for what he loves about fatherhood?

"Absolutely everything except dinner time," he quipped. "I love everything else. It feels like nothing else matters. I'm a dad now, and my only role in life is that. That's real life. All this is lovely, but I'm just trying to get home."

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But when he's home with his family during the holidays, don't expect him to turn on his brother Macaulay Culkin's movie Home Alone.

"There's still some scary parts," Kieran told E! News earlier this month. "For the 3-year-old, there's the tarantula [and] there's the guy at the end who said, 'I'm gonna bite off all your fingers.' That's scary for a 3-year-old."

However, he may be open to finding out.

"We think they might be ready for Home Alone this year," Kieran added. "If not, next year."

Now, read on to see more iconic celebrity godparents.

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Stephen Curry & Ayesha Curry

The NBA star and his wife are godparents to Lindsay Lohan and husband Bader Shammas' son Luai, as they revealed with a basketball jersey the athlete gifted them at a Golden State Warriors game in February 2024.

(Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Baby2Baby)

Tyler Perry

The filmmaker recalled the surprising moment when he was crowned godfather to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's daughter Lilibet Diana.

"They were pretty serious on the phone," he recalled in the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan. "I go, 'OK, what's going on?' They said, 'Well, we'd like for you to be Lili's godfather.' I go, 'Whoa.' I take a minute to take that in. And I thought, 'I'd be honored. I'd be absolutely honored.'"

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Taylor Swift

The singer announced in 2015 that Jaime King had dubbed her godmother of her son Leo Thames. The Grammy winner posted a photo of her first meeting with her godchild on Instagram, writing, "Meeting my boy."

Swift also shared in July 2024 that she is godmother to Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' kids.

Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Jessica Alba

Swift isn't the only celeb that King tapped to be a godparent to her children, having revealed in a 2013 Instagram post that Jessica Alba was her eldest son James' godmother.

"Thank you Jess for your unending love and light," King wrote. "We are so grateful for you." Plus, King shared That '70s Show star Topher Grace is James' godfather.

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Khloé Kardashian

Kim Kardashian named her little sis as North West's godmother during her baptism in Israel in 2015. Three years later, Khloé Kardashian returned the favor when she named the SKIMS founder as her daughter True Thompson's potential legal guardian, leading to tension with their older sister Kourtney Kardashian.

"So I can't make anything official until the baby is born…but I am going to probably have Kim as the legal guardian if, god forbid, something happens," the Good American mogul explained in a 2018 episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. "I don't know my parenting style until I have a baby, but from what I envision my parenting style to be, I do think it'll be more like Kim. A little more stricter."

Kim's reaction to the title? "It is my honor," she said. "And I will take such good care of your kids."

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Dolly Parton

The renowned country singer-songwriter known for her big voice and big hair was named godmother to "Wrecking Ball" artist Miley Cyrus after forming a close bond with her father Billy Ray Cyrus when they worked together in the early 1990s. 

"We just kind of jelled, 'cause we're both country kids. We had a lot of fun just talking about that," Parton said on SiriusXM's Just Jenny in 2019. "And then when Miley came along, I said, 'She's got to be my fairy goddaughter.'" Parton would later make an appearance on Hannah Montana as the titular character's fairy godmother.

Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images

Jennifer Aniston

The one where Courteney Cox asked Jennifer Aniston a very special question.

Cox and her ex-husband David Arquette tapped her Friends co-star and real-life bestie as their daughter Coco Cox Arquette's godmother.

After Cox posted a video of her and Coco singing a cover of Demi Lovato's "Anyone" in 2020, Aniston commented, "Aww, just like her godmother taught her."

Photo by Kevin Tachman/MG19/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Joan Collins

The English actress and author is godmother to supermodel Cara Delevingne.

Photo by Unique Nicole/WireImage

Jamie Lee Curtis

The Oscar winner, once dubbed the "scream queen" due to her starring roles in the Halloween film franchise, is godmother to siblings Jake Gyllenhaal and Maggie Gyllenhaal

(Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

B.J. Novak

Who says you can't stay friends with your ex? While their romantic relationship ended, The Office costars and writers remained so close that Mindy Kaling named B.J. Novak the godfather to her kids, Katherine, Spencer and Anne. While she has never publicly identified the father of her children, some fans have wondered if it's Novak. As for how they feel about the speculation?

"It doesn't bother me," the A Wrinkle in Time star told Marie Claire in August 2022. "He's the godparent to both my kids—and they have such a great relationship—and so far [the rumors haven't] affected my happiness at all, it hasn't affected my kids or B.J…If that's what is going to be titillating to people, I'll take it."

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Macaulay Culkin

After becoming close friends with Michael Jackson as a child star, the Home Alone actor was named the godfather of Paris Jackson, the late pop legend's only daughter.

"I am close with Paris," Culkin said on Marc Maron's WTF podcast in 2018. "I'm going to warn you now I am very protective of her, so just look out. I am a very open book when it comes to things but like with her, she is beloved by me."

In September 2024, she revealed that acting legend Elizabeth Taylor was her godmother. 

"There's definitely a part of him that knew that we would have a very similar experience," she explained in the first episode of the BBC docuseries Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar. "I was homeschooled and because of that, I don't know what it was like to be around other kids my age."

She added, "And I think it was just the same for her."

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Nick Jonas

Nick Jonas proved he's a sucker for his niece Valentina Jonas, revealing on Snapchat in 2017 that his older brother Kevin Jonas and his wife Danielle Jonas asked him to be her godfather.

The "Jealous" singer posted a photo of himself and his sister-in-law Katie Deleasa holding Valentina on her "Dedication Day," where they were officially named her godparents.

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Vin Diesel

After Paul Walker's tragic death in 2013, his Fast & Furious co-tar Vin Diesel was first and foremost there for his then 15-year-old goddaughter Meadow Walker. Their bond held fast, and the action star was there to walk Meadow down the aisle at her wedding to Louis Thornton-Allan in October 2021.

"I could say that I am so proud of the person you are becoming," Diesel wrote in a 2019 Instagram post for Meadow's 21st birthday. "But the truth is I have always been proud of you."

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Tim McGraw

From costars to close friends. After starring in two films together—Friday Night Lights and Country Strong—Garrett Hedlund selected Tim McGraw to be the godfather to his son Rhodes Robert, who he shares with his ex-girlfriend Emma Roberts.

"He's somebody that I admire and respect, not only as an amazing father and an amazing husband, amazing musician and amazing actor," Hedlund told Kelly Clarkson in 2021. "I've known him for a long time."

After first working together in 2006 when they played father and son, Hedlund explained, "I got to first experience him as a father...and we've remained such close friends. He's the best."

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Victor Garber

From Spy Daddy to godfather! Jennifer Garner tapped her Alias costar Victor Garber for the important role when she and then-husband Ben Affleck welcomed daughter Violet Affleck in 2005.

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Bryan Cranston

Aaron Paul was the one who knocked when he asked his Breaking Bad costar Bryan Cranston to be the godfather of his two children with wife Lauren Paul.

Cranston said that being a godparent to his friend's kids is "truly answering a call."

"It is truly allowing me to go through the experience of what it feels like to be a grandfather," he shared with British GQ. "My jaws hurt from [smiling]."

Of choosing Cranston, Paul told Jimmy Fallon, "I love the man to death. He's one of my best friends in the world, and it was just a no-brainer."

Jon Furniss / Contributor Getty Images

Jake Gyllenhaal

The award-winning actor is godfather to Matilda Williams, the daughter of his Brokeback Mountain costars Michelle Williams and the late Heath Ledger. Matilda counts her mom's Dawson's Creek costar-turned-BFF Busy Philipps as her other godparent.

(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Meryl Streep

"I mean, she's Meryl Streep."

That was the response Billie Lourd, daughter of the late Carrie Fisher, gave Andy Cohen when he asked what the best part of having the Oscar winner as her godmother was during a 2019 episode of Watch What Happens Live.

Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage for NARAS

Sting & Trudie Styler

The British rock star and his wife are the godparents to Madonna and Guy Ritchie's son Rocco Ritchie.

Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Rupert Everett

Madonna's adopted son, David Banda, has the My Best Friend's Wedding actor as a godfather, forever and ever.

(Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Baby2Baby)

Zach Braff

The Garden State actor was given the title from his Scrubs costar and real-life best friend Donald Faison, who has two kids, Rocco Faison and Wilder Faison with wife CaCee Cobb

"Thank you to @caceecobb for growing this for @donald_aison and I," Braff joked in Aril 2015 after Wilder's birth. #GodfatherII."

Photo by Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images

Kathie Lee Gifford

A longtime friend of Kris Jenner, the former Today host is godmother to Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner.

Photo by Ryan Miller/Getty Images

Cameron Diaz

Angels forever! Drew Barrymore picked her Charlie's Angels costar and best friend Cameron Diaz to be the godmother to her younger daughter, Frankie Barrymore Kopelman.

Photo by SGranitz/WireImage

Steven Spielberg

The famed director gave his goddaughters their big breaks, casting Barrymore in E.T. and Gwyneth Paltrow in Hook.

(Photo by George Chinsee/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images)

Sophia Loren

And that's not Barrymore's only famed guardian angel. A scion of screen legends, she counts Italian acting icon Sophia Loren as her godmother.

Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Bono

The U2 frontman is godfather to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's twins Knox and Vivienne.

Photo by Jamie McCarthy/WireImage

Johnny Depp

The Pirates of the Caribbean actor is godfather to Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter's son Billy Ray Burton.

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