X-Men star slates ‘ bland’ young actors
SCOTS movie star Brian Cox has accused young British actors of being ‘bland’ and unable to cut it on the stage.
The X-Men and Rob Roy actor made the comments in an interview with a UK lifestyle magazine aimed at the over-50s.
He said: ‘I look at a lot of young actors and I don’t think they’re very good.
‘There’s a thing that goes on in acting now where they don’t engage, there’s a blandness about them, they’re homogenised,’ said the 69-year-old Dundonian.
‘There’s a lot of people who work in television and film who can’t cut it in theatre, they don’t have theatre chops.
‘And theatre is, for an actor, an actor’s medium. It’s where you exercise your craft.’
Cox has appeared in many Hollywood roles, including the Bourne movies and Troy.
He also starred in the first Hannibal Lecter film and has enjoyed huge success on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre.
He added: ‘One thing I’ve noticed is that the younger generations don’t seem interested in the roots of their profession any more.
‘I wanted to know what my heritage was, what the roots of the theatre were.
‘They don’t know about who’s who, about the genesis of the Royal Shakespeare Company, for example. Some might not even know who Olivier is.
‘The British actors are better trained. American actors aren’t as well-trained, in that their craft isn’t developed.
‘But their energy is phenomenal. British actors are playing in the slips a bit.’