He is best known for his role as tyrannical media mogul Logan Roy.
And much like his character in HBO series Succession, Brian Cox is not afraid of speaking his mind – even as he approaches his 80th birthday.
The Scottish actor has doubled down on his no-nonsense approach, saying he ‘doesn’t want to be careful anymore’.
He previously said: ‘I feel I’ve upset a few people over the years. The problem is, I can be quite a loudmouth. Sometimes I have been fairly volatile, and I think, “Why the f**k did you say that?”‘
From criticising ‘woke culture’ to brutal digs at the acting world’s biggest names, the Daily Mail takes a look at some of Brian’s most explosive outbursts.
Brian Cox is best known for his role as the tyrannical media mogul Logan Roy, and much like his character in Succession he isn’t afraid of speaking his mind
Over the years, Brian has been very open about his opinions on Hollywood stars, branding some ‘overrated’ and ‘a***holes’.
And just last week he had some terse words when it came to Johnny Depp.
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 said he was relieved.
He told The Times that he did not want to work alongside Johnny because he thinks the actor is ‘so overblown’ and ‘so overrated’.
In one section of his memoir, Brian wrote: ‘Personable though I’m sure he [Johnny] is, is so overblown, so overrated.
‘I mean, Edward Scissorhands. Let’s face it, if you come on with hands like that and pale, scarred-face makeup, you don’t have to do anything. And he didn’t. And subsequently, he’s done even less.’
He also thought Edward Norton was ‘a pain in the a**e’, Kevin Spacey was ‘a stupid, stupid man’ and that Ian McKellen’s acting was ‘not to his taste’.
Brian also had harsh words for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood writer and director Quentin Tarantino.
‘I find his work meretricious. It’s all surface. Plot mechanics in place of depth. Style where there should be substance. I walked out of Pulp Fiction,’ he shared.
The pair have never worked together but despite the criticism Brian admitted he would consider it if he was given the opportunity, adding: If the phone rang, I’d do it.’
He said fellow Scot Michael Caton-Jones was a ‘ complete a***hole’, while David Hare was a ‘see you next Tuesday’.
Brian also criticised the casting of Margot Robbie as Cathy in Emerald Fennell’s recent adaptation of Wuthering Heights.
He poked fun at her Australian accent and claimed she’s too pretty to play the role of Emily Brontë’s protagonist in the 19th century romance novel.
Brian has described Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp as ‘so overblown’ and ‘so overrated’ and also claimed Edward Norton was ‘a pain in the a**e’
Brian also criticised the casting of Margot Robbie as Cathy in Emerald Fennell’s recent adaptation of Wuthering Heights
The Scot also said his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong’s method acting was ‘f***ing annoying’ and ‘really a cultural clash’
Even beloved figures like David Bowie couldn’t escape Brian’s barbs.
The two appeared together on the British military series Redcap in the 1960s, where the future music icon’s acting didn’t impress him.
The actor said he was ‘a skinny kid, and not a particularly good actor’ adding that he ‘made a better pop star, that much is for certain’.
Although some actors are applauded for their dedication to method acting, Brian also reportedly said that his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong’s approach was ‘f***ing annoying’.
Reflecting on his comments, Brian explained that his wife had concerns about his no-nonsense approach to life and his willingness to express his opinions.
He said: ‘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 called 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 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’s 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.’
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.’
The actor previously admitted that he gets ‘grumpy about politics’, saying that Keir Starmer was ‘not exactly the most charming of individuals’
And it’s not just his fellow celebs that he aims at, with the actor previously admitting that he gets ‘grumpy about politics’.
He told The Guardian: ‘A lot of that makes me angry. The failure of the Labour party in particular.’
‘Starmer is not exactly the most charming of individuals. He’s not Mr Charm. He’s not got the thing Tony Blair had, which served him brilliantly till hubris got the better of him. Starmer is minus one on that score.’
Last year Brian was said to have been reported to Equity, a trade union for performers and creatives, after losing his temper during rehearsals, according to The Times.
However, he claimed that actors from his generation would typically lose their temper while acting.
Reflecting on his entry into theatre, he recalled witnessing a fist-fight between two actors, including Excalibur actor Nicol Williamson.
He said the exchange would not be allowed to pass in modern times.
‘It’s this whole woke nonsense. You can’t say boo to a goose, he told The Times.
‘I mean, I just lost my temper and I said, ‘I’m not losing my temper at you. I’m losing my temper at me. I’m the one who’s having the problem, not you.’
While Brian can come across like he has no care in the world, back in 2010, he revealed he was receiving stress counselling to control his temper.
The Dundee-born star said he sought help as he became suspicious of others’ motives.
He decided on a form of cognitive behavioural therapy known as logotherapy – a way to rediscover meaning in life.
‘I have gone back into therapy after a period of 25 years… because I’ve reached a certain age where there are certain elements of myself which I’m not quite happy with and I’d like to deal with,’ he told The Times.
‘I can get overreactive in certain ways and things can carry me, take me in a way which is not necessarily healthy and really at my time of life you’ve got to start being healthy.
‘It’s anger, loss of trust, loss of faith and ‘poor me’ you know, all of those kind of weaknesses.’
