Greg is the younger, more inexperienced between the two. He is around his late twenties (the script describes Greg as "early twenties", but Nicholas Braun was thirty for the first season.) and is introduced as a stoner struggling to hold down a job.
Greg is consistently the biggest fish-out-of-water. He is frequently cast aside and mocked by his cousins, dismissed by his grandpa and great uncle, and stands out physically due to his tall stature. Despite Greg being practically handed a new life of wealth, he can hardly catch a break.
Though he's far from wearing his heart on his sleeve, Greg seems also to participate in the desperate search for genuine connection. Throughout the series, Greg struggles to ingraciate himself with his family. His grandpa treats him exclusively to harsh criticism, his cousins reject his touch and attempts at in-grouping, and he can scarcely faciliate the formation of new friendships.
His outsiderness is only amplified by his subtextual queerness. Additional to his off father-son/protege-teacher dependency on Tom, Greg is the epitome of effeminate. His body is thin, his hair is initally shaggy and long, he unashamedly whines and complains, and he continuously engages in unfulfilling, shallow relationships with women. To top it off, Greg's father is scarely mentioned...asside from two references to his wanton homosexual activity, which is weaponized to shame Greg.
My love for Greg is not personal or layered, but I adore him. He's cute, relatable, funny, and is an incredible narrative compliment to Tom and a fascinating mirror to Shiv. I find him one of the most interesting parts of Succession's sexual and queer subtext.
Trivia
He likes Hamilton
He's 6'7"
His grandfather is Canadian, but his mother lives in California. It is unclear if Greg is Canadian and/or was raised in California.
He studied Zoology (cut dialogue in the scripts)
He likes the California Pizza Kitchen
His last name, Hirsch, means deer or stag, and is Jewish in origin
Headcanon
age: 27 (born 1991)
gay, perhaps a little unaddressed transness
jewish on father's side, catholic on mother's side
music taste: Aesop Rock, Eminem, Daft Punk - he fucks with white rappers big time
