'Succession' star Justine Lupe believes Willa's character deserves more credit

Justine Lupe, who portrays escort-turned-fiancée Willa Ferreyra, on Succession says viewers have got her relationship all wrong.

Willa’s relationship with the Roy family’s oldest son Connor (Alan Ruck) is a fan favorite. When she made her debut in Season 1, Episode 2 , Justine Lupe says she approached the role trying to be “the best date ever.”

“I just tried to take what was given to me on the page, both with the dynamic with Connor and the dynamic with the family and what little I knew about her artistic ambitions, and create a person out of those kinds of little puzzle pieces,” she said.

Despite the overt uncertainty surrounding her persona, Lupe said her character’s relationship with Connor doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

“I think that’s a fun one to track,” Lupe said. “Willa started out in a kind of transactional relationship with him and it’s evolved into something that has a lot more depth. There’s a lot of empathy for each other. She kind of sees who he is and where he’s come from, and the family environment that he’s come from. She’s stepped into a position where she’s more protective of him and he’s always been quite protective of her. They’ve become endeared to each other. She sees how ludicrous his thinking is and… it’s not perfect, but I do think there’s a lot of affection there.”

“It’s funny,” Lupe said.

“Because the writers plant really fun clues as like a roadmap that she was on that night. She started out outside of an aquarium store, and then she goes to the Williamsburg Bridge where she’s in the river. ‘No, she’s not in the river. She’s on the bridge! Oh, she’s in Williamsburg.’ I imagine she’s on a bit of an existential journey because of the state in which she left the party. There’s a little bit of catharsis that she’s seeking. I like that people can create their own kind of narrative of what exactly that looks like.”