Succession star: Meryl is right up my Streep
Actor Brian Cox has revealed the person he wants most to work with is Meryl Streep.
Cox, 75, said he used to be dismissive of the American three-time Oscar winner, but later realised he was actually just jealous of her talent.
The Succession star said he had since admitted this to Streep, 72, in person and told her she was magnificent.
In The Brian Cox Interview, to be shown on BBC Scotland on Tuesday, the Dundee-born actor said: “I would love, love, to act opposite Meryl Streep.
“In fact we were at the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) Awards and she came after to say well done and stuff, and I just went ‘it’s you’. I’m such a big fan.
“I actually met her years ago. I used to be dismissive of her and then I said, ‘You know I was very dismissive of you and then I realised I was jealous. I was jealous of your ability.’ It was all nonsense on my part. I was young and stupid, and I said, ‘because you are magnificent, there’s no question about it’.
“Meryl Streep is somebody I’d like to work with, and I wouldn’t mind throwing Martin Scorsese into that mix as well.”
Cox’s acting career on stage and screen spans more than 60 years including roles in hit movies including Manhunter, in which he played Dr Hannibal Lecter, and Oscar-winning Braveheart.
His portrayal of Logan Roy, the lead character in the multi-award-winning series Succession, has made him one of the biggest stars on television.
Cox said Roy’s bad language had also crept into his off-screen vocabulary.
But he revealed his biggest inspiration was Scots actor Fulton Mackay, best known as Mr Mackay in ’70s sitcom Porridge. Cox added: “He said to me, ‘Brian, Brian, don’t worry about being a star, just try and be a good actor.”