Brian Cox did not hold back in a recent rant as he called out some of Hollywood’s biggest names, branding them ‘stupid’, ‘overblown’ and ‘complete a***holes’.
The actor, best known for his role as the tyrannical media mogul Logan Roy in Succession, declared that now that he is turning 80, he is going to ‘say what he wants’.
And true to his word, as he reflected on his time in the movie industry, he revealed what he really thinks of some of the biggest names in showbusiness.
Brian reportedly turned down the role of the governor in the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise. But, rather than feeling like he missed out on an opportunity, he says he was relieved.
He did not want to work alongside Johnny Depp because he thinks the actor is ‘so overblown’ and ‘so overrated’.
Discussing others, he said he thought Edward Norton was ‘a pain in the a**e’, Kevin Spacey was a ‘a stupid, stupid man’ and that Ian McKellen‘s acting was ‘not to his taste’.
Brian Cox did not hold back in a recent rant as he called out some of Hollywood’s biggest names, branding them ‘stupid’, ‘overblown’ and ‘complete a***holes’
Brian said he didn’t want to work alongside Johnny Depp, left, because he thinks the actor is ‘so overblown’ and ‘so overrated’, while he claimed Edward Norton was ‘a pain in the a**e’
And his rant on Hollywood stars didn’t end there.
Turning his sights to director Quentin Tarantino, the veteran actor branded him ‘meretricious’ and fellow Scot Michael Caton-Jones ‘a complete a***hole’, while David Hare was a ‘see you next Tuesday’.
Although some actors are applauded for their dedication to method acting, Brian said in his interview with The Times that his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong’s approach was ‘f***ing annoying’.
Brian went on to explain that his wife had concerns about his no-nonsense approach to life and his willingness to express his opinions.
But he reasoned: ‘I think, “F*** it, I don’t want to be careful any more! I’ll be 80 this year. F*** it! I’m gonna say what I want to say”.’
Brian has been married to Nicole Ansari-Cox since 2002, and the pair have two sons – Orson, 24, and Torin, 21.
He may regret not taking his wife’s advice, however, as he has previously rubbed stars up the wrong way with his blunt remarks.
Last year, Daniel Day-Lewis hit back at Brian after the the Scottish actor dismissed method acting as ‘American s***’.
Daniel is famed for ‘the process’, an intense rehearsal technique through which he attempts to channel a given character’s inner motivations and emotions through lived experience.
And Brian referenced this during a chat with Variety, in which he was bemoaning his co-star Jeremy’s method acting on the set of Succession.
‘It’s really a cultural clash,’ he said. ‘I don’t put up with all that American s***. I’m sorry. All that sort of “I think, therefore I feel”. Just do the job. Don’t identify.
‘Of course, Jeremy was Dan Day-Lewis’ assistant. So he’s learned all that stuff from Dan.’
Responding to Brian’s dismissive comments, Daniel told The Big Issue: ‘Listen, I worked with Brian Cox once and got somehow drawn into this handbags-at-dawn conflict inadvertently.
‘Brian is a very fine actor who’s done extraordinary work. As a result he’s been given a soapbox… which he shows no sign of climbing down from.
‘Any time he wants to talk about it, I’m easy to find.’
Brian also said his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong’s method acting was ‘f***ing annoying’ and ‘really a cultural clash’
The trio all worked together in the 1997 film The Boxer, with Brian and Daniel taking on leading roles while a then-unknown Jeremy served as Daniel’s assistant.
Daniel continued: ‘If I thought during our work together I’d interfered with his working process, I’d be appalled.
‘But I don’t think it was like that. So I don’t know where the f*** that came from. Jeremy Strong is a very fine actor. I don’t know how he goes about things, but I don’t feel responsible in any way for that.’
While Brian is best known these days for his role in Succession, he has an illustrious career.
He was the first actor to play Hannibal Lecter in Manhunter and has starred in numerous other films including Rob Roy, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Super Troopers, The Ring, Adaptation, X-Men 2, Red Eye and Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.
For his role in Succession, Brian won a Golden Globe in 2020 and was nominated for an Emmy Award three times. And has won two Olivier Awards for his performances in Rat In the Skull and Titus Andronicus.
He was also appointed a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 2003.
A respected Shakespearean actor, he has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, starring as King Lear and also appearing in The Taming Of The Shrew and Julias Caesar.
