'It's Like A Greek Myth Or Shakespeare Play': J. Smith-Cameron On HBO's Succession, Working With Kieran Culkin

(CBS Local)-- Many people around New York know J. Smith-Cameron for her work on Broadway, but now the country is taking notice of her acting prowess in the HBO hit show "Succession."

Smith-Cameron plays Gerri Kellman and she is tasked with keeping the powerful Roy family in check as the general counsel to Waystar Royco. The show is shot in New York and tells the story of Logan Roy and his family's giant media empire. This series is different from anything Smith-Cameron has done on the stage or on TV.

"It's been fantastic. I could tell right away that there was really specific characters and really specific language," said Smith-Cameron in an interview with CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith. "It's really distinct and unlike any TV I've ever read. It's really exciting for us to watch on Sunday night's because we don't know how it is going to be cut together. The camera editing is part of the whole originality of it."

This season, Smith-Cameron's character spends a lot of her time on screen with New York native Kieran Culkin, the younger brother of Macaulay Culkin. The plot and romantic relationship involving Gerri and Roman was a huge surprise for the former Broadway actor.

"I don't quite know what to make of that subplot," said Smith-Cameron. "I also think Gerri doesn't know what to make of that subplot. It's inherently interesting because you have this woman who used to quickly evaluating and adjusting and jumping sides if she has to. She always lands on her feet like a cat. Kieran and I have a rapport in real life from pre-Succession. There is some kind of authentic relationship if you can have an authentic relationship with Roman. It sort of makes sense on some bizarre level."

Although many people will never understand what it's like to live as a billionaire, people are still fascinated by the world the Roy family orbits. This makes sense to Smith-Cameron because she sees this through the lense of art.

"It's like a Greek myth or Shakespeare play. It's a very dysfunctional family. When you're growing up, your parents are like Zeus and Hera," said Smith-Cameron. "That is almost literally true here. They have so much power that it's very larger than life. Just the way they live is elevated and larger than life and insulated. They can't really interact with regular people in the world, they can't really make sense of it."