Nicholas Braun on great suits, plaid pants and meeting Larry David: "He was like, 'Are you the cousin?!'" (exclusive)
Great fashion was in no short supply at Sunday night's Golden Globe Awards, but even among the likes of J.Lo, Beyonce and Saoirse, a disproportionate number of eyes were on one guy: "Succession" star Nicholas Braun.
"That blue suit is doing things to me tonight," one fan tweeted, while another mused of Braun's navy and black ensemble, "Give me a minute, I'm swooning."
Braun, who plays Greg Hirsch — more descriptively known as Cousin Greg — on the acclaimed comedy-drama, has continually upped his style game since the series debuted in 2018. He also recently partnered with Miller64 for "Dry-ish January," a more attainable twist on the typical no-alcohol New Year's resolution.
In The Know's Jennifer Kline spoke with him ahead of the Golden Globes about award season style, overcoming social jitters and what went down when he met his personal comedy hero Larry David.
ITK: I love that you're working with a beer brand because I feel like you're a guy everyone would want to have at their party.
NICHOLAS BRAUN: Thank you for that. That's a nice compliment. I'm happy I'm working with a beer brand too — I've drank a lot of beer in my lifetime. I've had a few of these Miller64's and they're quite good.
You have to hit up a lot of events, especially during awards season. Do you get nerves or anxiety before walking into a party?
I do. It's a lot of meeting people you revere and knowing like, "I have 90 seconds with this person before someone else grabs their shoulder." So it gets a little nervy.
Is there anyone in particular you really wanted to meet, and when you walked away, you were like, "I nailed that"?
Let me think. Larry David was a good one. It started off with me being like, "Hey, I just want to say I'm a huge fan, I've been watching your show for so long." And he kind of just didn't even care, it seemed. He shook my hand, I think. And then his wife nudged him and was like "Is that ...?" And then he looked at my face and was like: "Hold on a second. Are you cous — are you the cousin?!" And I was like, yeah, I'm the cousin! And he was like, "Oh my God, I love the show, you're great on the show!" And then we ended up talking for a few minutes, and I turned to my friend afterward and was like, "Holy s--t." Like, that went the best way it could go. That was an amazing moment for me.
That is really surreal. Okay, let's say you're going out and you want to look good, and you don't have a stylist on hand to help. What kind of outfit do you go for?
In the wintertime, a turtleneck is a go-to for me. Turtleneck, blazer, nice pair of maybe plaid pants or something. These days I've got a few blazers I can rotate in and out. I try to throw a nice blazer over anything and it immediately becomes a decent outfit.
You've worn a lot of colored suits on the red carpet, which I really like (and so does the rest of the internet). Have you always been down to play with colors and patterns?
I think I didn't know how to dress until a year and a half ago, honestly. I mean, I can dress in a regular way, but I didn't know how to put a suit together or what I even could pull off until pretty recently. I've been trying some stuff and I like it. I wore this purple Gucci suit to something a few years ago, and that actually was kind of a cool vibe for me. So I'm willing to go for that kind of stuff. But I'm a big body, so I don't want to go too crazy on the red carpet.
Braun in his violet suit at a pre-Emmys party in 2018. (Photo: Getty)
You talked last year on "The Late Show" about going to a swanky party in the Hamptons and feeling a bit out of place. What are some tips for playing it cool in overwhelming social situations?
Dress in a way that makes you feel like yourself. That always helps me. If I feel like I look good, then I don't feel like I'm faking it. I try to just accept that these things are kind of crazy, these gatherings. Not even "Hollywood" — any social gathering. Try to find ways to get into yourself. Get a good haircut, you know. And just accept that it's sometimes weird when you put a bunch of people in a room together who don't know each other that well.
