Brian Cox: ‘I think the Succession debate is: is he dead?’
I recently read your autobiography, which I enjoyed a lot. You’re refreshingly honest – and critical – about other actors and styles of acting. Did you have any qualms? TheloniousI don’t have any qualms talking honestly and directly. It’s horses for courses with acting. Each actor has their own style, approach and attitude. My view is that acting is a much simpler thing than a lot of people make out. It’s not as heavy handed as some people believe it is. I believe that actors are transmitters, that things come through them, and that’s what we have to allow so we don’t overload. When I read the book again, I did have slight qualms. I thought: “Maybe I’m being a bit too harsh.” Then I thought: “No, I’m not.” I’m at an age now where I can say what I feel and believe, and that’s brilliant. But I don’t really diss any actors in my book.
Your on-screen persona is often terrifying. Would you like to be cast as a romantic lead? MazziniAbsolutely! Of course I would. I had my moments when I was younger and maybe it’ll come again. Who knows?
Would you consider getting your head frozen in a postmortem bid for immortality, or do you think the future is unlikely to be a suitable place for a 20th-century Scotsman to be thawed out? NemoMk2That’s rather a complicated question. I don’t particularly want my head frozen in a postmortem bid for immortality. I don’t believe in immortality. I believe once you’re gone, you’re gone. Do I think the future is likely to be a suitable place for a 20th-century Scotsman? It’s a very loaded question.
Why have they picked up on Scotsman? The idea that I’m going to be thawed out? Well, I don’t want to be frozen. And I don’t see why the future should not be a likely place for a 20th-century Scotsman.
I have always preferred Manhunter to The Silence of the Lambs. Do you have any particular feelings about
being overshadowed in this role? Philip_Larkin_FanNo, not at all. It’s horses for courses, again. There are going to be many different Hamlets, King Lears and Macbeths. So there are going to be many Hannibal Lecters. Mads Mikkelsen has played him [in TV show Hannibal]. Tony [Hopkins] played him beautifully. I worked with Tony in [2013 Bruce Willis film] Red 2. Although we never actually met, we had some long conversations. I really admire Tony because he has such an extraordinary range of talent. I wish I could do what he does. He can compose, he can act, he can paint. I wish I had that range, but I don’t.
Is there another actor that you regret not having had the chance to work with? Wallace8There’s a lot of actors who are long dead. I’d have loved to have been on set with Spencer Tracy to observe how he works, or Marlon Brando or Katharine Hepburn. There are some actors I’ve been very lucky to work with, like Olivier and Ian McKellen. I’d absolutely love to work with Meryl Streep. There is still the possibility of that. You never know. Something may come along.
I think other actors quite like me because I’m not fussy. I don’t take it too seriously. I give it the attention it deserves, but I don’t do the religious experience element of acting. I think I’m very simple actually. I’m very straightforward. I believe in the power of the imagination.
Was there a defining moment when you switched from supporting the Labour party to the SNP, or was it a slow process? Does it worry you someone born with a similar working-class background to yours would have hardly any chance of a career on stage or in film/ TV? SidfishesI still consider myself a socialist. I was very, very angry about how Tony Blair dealt with Iraq, particularly getting into bed with Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney. That really disillusioned me. I felt the social democracy was gone. The party I’d been particularly scathing about 20 years ago has now grown into a strong social democratic party. I’ve always hated the word nationalist. I would prefer it to be called the Scottish Independent party, because I believe in independence as opposed to nationalism.
I do worry that working-class kids have not got the same pathway that I had. It’s much more of a struggle. I’m a child of the 60s, which was a period of great social mobility. When I came to London as a 16-year-old and had my first audition, I was welcomed. I also got a grant. My mother was a widow, so I had a very good grant. All my fees and living expenses were paid. That was the 60s. We’re a lot worse off now, financially. We’ve seen the rise of how the public schools have dealt with the theatre in a brilliant way and created conditions where people like Eddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch and Dominic West have come out from the private sector. But I do worry. There’s no pathway for the working-class actor.
Do you have a stylist in real life? I really love how you dress – very dapper. JenonlineI do have a stylist, only because of all the appearances I have to make and the sweat of thinking what to wear. I’ve got this wonderful Indian stylist called Venk Modur, who’s brilliant. The problem is, I’ve got too many clothes now. I’ve got a bigger wardrobe than my wife!
Where do you sit on the theory that Logan Roy was dead all along? TurangaLeela2I think the debate is: is he dead? Have we seen his body? They carefully avoided showing his body. Everybody said: “Have you seen it? Wasn’t that a great episode?” I still haven’t seen it. I’m a terrible one for watching. I don’t like watching myself, but my wife will make me. I watched some the other night. We’ve got two more episodes to go: the funeral and the finale. So don’t tell me what happens.
The impact of Logan Roy is way beyond one’s expectation. That’s not just me. That’s also the writing. My favourite line in the whole show is: “I love you, but you’re not serious people.” I’m going to start writing that on my Christmas cards. Ha!
How Irish are you, Brian? Hekim68I’m 88% Irish and 12% Scot. I consider myself more Scots than Irish. I love the Irish, but they are, they’re very … what’s the word? There is no word for “no” in Irish Gaelic. It’s like it’s an offence to say no. They’d sooner cut your throat than say no to you. The great thing about Scotland is that I learned the word “no”.
Brian, can you please tell me “FUCK OFF!”? HamesJoyceI can certainly tell you to fuck off. Please do fuck off. It’s so funny. Human beings are the most ridiculous species on God’s earth because they want me to tell them to fuck off. I go fuck off, because I want to tell them to fuck off. But no one gets the dichotomy.
• Prisoner’s Daughter is released on 4 July on Prime Video.