'Law & Order: SVU': Nicholas Braun Reveals Christopher Meloni's On-Set Fear Tactics
Almost every actor has a Law & Order story, and Succession star Nicholas Braun shared his hilarious experience on Live With Kelly and Ryan Thursday morning. Braun, 34, appeared in the memorable Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Surveillance" in 2002, meaning he got to work with Christopher Meloni and Ice-T at a young age. He learned Meloni's bizarre on-set fear tactic to get the right reaction from the then-child actor, which somehow didn't dissuade him from pursuing acting as an adult.
"It was a very exciting role. I played, I think, a character without a name, 'Boy in Internet café' because those existed at the time," Braun told Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest, via Indiewire. "I was looking at a video of the woman who got murdered or sexually assaulted because that's the show. And then Chris Meloni and Ice-T, I think, come and sit down and are like, 'Why are you watching this video?'"
Meloni thought Braun's reaction to him and Ice-T was not enough. Meloni "didn't think I was getting scared enough by them as cops, so when he comes and sits down, he would pinch me in the ribs," Braun recalled. The Law & Order: Organized Crime star continued doing this during every take, to the point that Braun was convinced he did a terrible job.
"At the end of the day, I thought I did so badly," he said. "I needed a pinch in order to...because he needed me to go, 'Ahh,' or I guess I was supposed to go, 'Oh, cops!' But instead, I was like, 'Oh ow!'" Braun said he was about 11 or 12 years old at the time.
It's a good thing that the experience didn't scare Braun away from the acting profession because it's hard to see who else could play Cousin Greg in HBO's Succession. The role earned Braun two Emmy nominations. He will be back to share more side-splitting scenes with Matthew Macfayden in the upcoming fourth and final season.
"We're all pretty bummed," Braun told Entertainment Tonight about Succession creator Jesse Armstrong's decision to end the show. "I was sad as hell [on] my last day... I finished a couple of weeks ago, and it was a really tough day, you know, saying goodbye to everybody. It's been the greatest working experience in my life. So, saying goodbye to those people is really tough." Braun refused to share details of the final season, only assuring that the ending is "fire."
Succession will return on HBO Sunday, March 26. Braun also stars in the upcoming movie Cat Person, which had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Meanwhile, Meloni stars in Law & Order: Organized Crime, which airs on NBC Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET, following SVU.