WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.799 Okay, let's, uh, let's untack this. When you 00:00:02.799 --> 00:00:06.120 picture a, you know, a media mogul today, there's 00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:09.179 this one image that just looms large, doesn't 00:00:09.179 --> 00:00:11.539 it? Oh, yeah. The voice, the sheer presence. 00:00:11.900 --> 00:00:14.960 Logan Roy. Exactly. And Brian Cox, the actor 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:17.679 who just embodied that terrifying patriarch in 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:20.800 succession, he became this global icon, like 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:22.899 almost overnight, it felt, late in his career. 00:00:22.980 --> 00:00:24.920 It really did feel that way to a lot of people. 00:00:25.100 --> 00:00:28.859 But here's the thing. If that HBO show is kind 00:00:28.859 --> 00:00:30.980 of the beginning and end of what you know about 00:00:30.980 --> 00:00:33.759 Brian Cox, well, you're missing out. Oh, absolutely. 00:00:33.920 --> 00:00:37.259 You're missing, what, 50 years? 50 years of just 00:00:37.259 --> 00:00:40.179 sheer foundational mastery. And a really complex 00:00:40.179 --> 00:00:42.259 history, too. Yeah, stretching all the way from 00:00:42.259 --> 00:00:46.000 working class streets in Dundee right up to the 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:48.219 gilded stages of the Royal Shakespeare Company. 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:49.939 That's exactly right. And that's really our mission 00:00:49.939 --> 00:00:54.600 today, isn't it? To move... far beyond Waystar 00:00:54.600 --> 00:00:56.939 Royco. Right. We're doing a deep dive here into 00:00:56.939 --> 00:01:01.240 the, I mean, sprawling, complex, incredibly prolific 00:01:01.240 --> 00:01:04.200 career of this amazing Scottish actor. We really 00:01:04.200 --> 00:01:06.319 want to uncover that foundational stage work, 00:01:06.379 --> 00:01:08.459 you know? And some surprising early film roles, 00:01:08.620 --> 00:01:10.780 almost contradictory ones sometimes. Yeah, and 00:01:10.780 --> 00:01:13.659 the other stuff too, his deep academic commitments, 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:17.659 his political life as well, all the things that 00:01:17.659 --> 00:01:21.040 truly define Brian Cox as, well, more than just 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:24.250 an actor. A polymath, maybe. A master craftsman. 00:01:24.629 --> 00:01:26.370 Definitely. And just to sort of set the stage 00:01:26.370 --> 00:01:28.230 for the sheer depth we're talking about, let's 00:01:28.230 --> 00:01:31.510 do a quick, like, stats check. Because it's impressive. 00:01:31.689 --> 00:01:33.650 It really is. We're not just talking Hollywood 00:01:33.650 --> 00:01:36.349 blockbusters here. His career is defined by accolades 00:01:36.349 --> 00:01:39.230 that celebrate the absolute highest level of 00:01:39.230 --> 00:01:41.730 acting craft. OK, like what? Yeah. Lay it on 00:01:41.730 --> 00:01:45.230 us. OK, so two Laurence Olivier awards. That's 00:01:45.230 --> 00:01:47.150 the absolute peak of British theater. Falcle, 00:01:47.230 --> 00:01:50.980 yeah. Then there's a Primetime Emmy award. And 00:01:50.980 --> 00:01:54.439 get this, for playing Herman Guring. Wow, okay. 00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:57.060 A Golden Globe award, that one's for Logan Roy, 00:01:57.180 --> 00:01:59.340 which people might know. Right. And on top of 00:01:59.340 --> 00:02:01.379 all that, he was appointed a Commander of the 00:02:01.379 --> 00:02:04.840 Order of the British Empire, a CBE, back in 2003. 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:08.270 Okay, so that list right there. Yeah. I mean, 00:02:08.490 --> 00:02:11.349 spanning stage, screen, national honors. It tells 00:02:11.349 --> 00:02:13.490 you immediately, doesn't it? He's not just some 00:02:13.490 --> 00:02:16.370 TV star who lucked into a great role. Oh, way. 00:02:16.490 --> 00:02:18.629 He's a genuine master of the craft. He's got 00:02:18.629 --> 00:02:22.710 that stage discipline, the textual rigor, you 00:02:22.710 --> 00:02:25.009 know? Yeah. And the sheer professional longevity. 00:02:25.169 --> 00:02:28.129 He's a giant. Absolutely. And to really understand 00:02:28.129 --> 00:02:31.949 that grit, that authority he just exudes on screen, 00:02:32.650 --> 00:02:33.789 we have to go right back to the beginning. We 00:02:33.789 --> 00:02:37.580 have to start where he did his hometown. Dundee. 00:02:37.740 --> 00:02:39.719 Okay, so let's jump right back. Dundee, Scotland. 00:02:40.740 --> 00:02:43.139 The formative years, because this really is where 00:02:43.139 --> 00:02:47.280 that relentless engine, that work ethic seems 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:50.259 to have started. Yeah. Brian Dennis Cox. Born 00:02:50.259 --> 00:02:53.780 in Dundee, 1946, youngest of five kids. And from 00:02:53.780 --> 00:02:55.500 a working -class background, right? Catholic 00:02:55.500 --> 00:02:57.840 family, Irish and Scottish descent. Exactly. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:02:59.919 And the source material, it's pretty clear, his 00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:02.819 childhood was marked by some really sudden, profound 00:03:02.819 --> 00:03:05.000 hardship. Yeah, it sounds like a deeply challenging 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:07.580 start. His father, he'd been a police officer, 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:09.620 then became a shopkeeper. That's right. Tragically 00:03:09.620 --> 00:03:12.680 died of pancreatic cancer when Brian Cox was 00:03:12.680 --> 00:03:15.780 only eight years old. Eight? I mean, imagine 00:03:15.780 --> 00:03:18.099 that. That's a foundational trauma right there, 00:03:18.180 --> 00:03:20.949 isn't it? losing the patriarch, the whole family 00:03:20.949 --> 00:03:23.810 dynamic shifting overnight. You really can't 00:03:23.810 --> 00:03:25.830 underestimate how that might shape an artist, 00:03:26.469 --> 00:03:28.629 especially one who later becomes obsessed with 00:03:28.629 --> 00:03:33.949 themes of power, decline, family tragedy, like 00:03:33.949 --> 00:03:36.250 Logan Roy. And the difficulties didn't stop there, 00:03:36.349 --> 00:03:38.110 did they? They sort of compounded quickly after 00:03:38.110 --> 00:03:40.990 that. No, his mother. The sources say she suffered 00:03:40.990 --> 00:03:43.310 several nervous breakdowns during his childhood. 00:03:43.509 --> 00:03:45.449 Which must have been incredibly difficult, and 00:03:45.449 --> 00:03:47.550 it meant that the practical job of raising him 00:03:47.550 --> 00:03:49.969 mostly fell to his three older sisters. Right, 00:03:50.069 --> 00:03:51.729 so you've got this early independence forced 00:03:51.729 --> 00:03:54.710 upon him, resilience, having to navigate all 00:03:54.710 --> 00:03:56.830 that emotional instability. You can definitely 00:03:56.830 --> 00:03:59.389 see how that might inform the kind of gravitas, 00:03:59.449 --> 00:04:01.389 the weight he brings to the screen later on. 00:04:01.669 --> 00:04:03.810 It definitely seemed to have provided a necessary 00:04:03.810 --> 00:04:06.629 drive, wouldn't you say? I mean, he left formal 00:04:06.629 --> 00:04:08.569 school in St. Michael's Junior Secondary School 00:04:08.569 --> 00:04:14.409 at 15, which is startlingly young. 15. But he 00:04:14.409 --> 00:04:17.509 didn't just drift, did he? That ambition, it 00:04:17.509 --> 00:04:20.009 was immediately channeled straight into the craft. 00:04:20.430 --> 00:04:23.269 Immediately. Started training right away, working 00:04:23.269 --> 00:04:26.370 as a stagehand and then acting at the Dundee 00:04:26.370 --> 00:04:28.870 Repertory Theater, a really venerable institution. 00:04:29.050 --> 00:04:31.149 So that was his first taste of professional theater 00:04:31.149 --> 00:04:33.089 life. Yeah, and then followed pretty quickly 00:04:33.089 --> 00:04:36.410 by formal training at the prestigious London 00:04:36.410 --> 00:04:39.149 Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, LMDA. Right. 00:04:39.370 --> 00:04:42.670 LMDA graduated in 1965. But just put that in 00:04:42.670 --> 00:04:45.170 perspective. He was already acting professionally 00:04:45.170 --> 00:04:48.230 at the Dundee Rep from the age of 14. 1961. 14. 00:04:48.470 --> 00:04:50.430 He was basically living the life of a working 00:04:50.430 --> 00:04:53.089 actor before he'd even technically left secondary 00:04:53.089 --> 00:04:55.430 school. And that kind of early baptism by fire. 00:04:55.660 --> 00:04:57.699 you know, in repertory theater. Where you're 00:04:57.699 --> 00:05:00.139 doing, what, five different roles and five different 00:05:00.139 --> 00:05:02.699 plays in a week sometimes? Exactly. It demands 00:05:02.699 --> 00:05:05.759 incredible technical skill, huge memory, just 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:08.500 grit. And that foundational work back in the 00:05:08.500 --> 00:05:11.439 60s and 70s, it was absolutely critical for where 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:14.259 he went next, wasn't it? Totally critical. And 00:05:14.259 --> 00:05:16.139 it wasn't just about, you know, getting experience 00:05:16.139 --> 00:05:18.120 for himself. He was actually involved in building 00:05:18.120 --> 00:05:21.019 institutions. Oh, really? How so? Well, he was 00:05:21.019 --> 00:05:23.160 one of the founding members of the Royal Lyceum 00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:25.829 Theater in Edinburgh. Wow, okay. Yeah, he performed 00:05:25.829 --> 00:05:28.370 in its very first show, The Servant Otoine Maesters, 00:05:28.910 --> 00:05:31.889 back in October 65, the same year he graduated 00:05:31.889 --> 00:05:34.850 from LM &DA. So there's this dedication right 00:05:34.850 --> 00:05:37.689 from the start, establishing quality regional 00:05:37.689 --> 00:05:40.370 theater. And that work quickly propelled him 00:05:40.370 --> 00:05:42.550 onto the national stage. Which brings us to London, 00:05:43.149 --> 00:05:47.589 his West End debut, 1967, playing Orlando in 00:05:47.589 --> 00:05:50.459 As You Like It. Yep. And there you see that classic 00:05:50.459 --> 00:05:53.060 British actor's trajectory, right? Regional foundation. 00:05:53.100 --> 00:05:56.379 Yeah. London debut. Check. Then getting absorbed 00:05:56.379 --> 00:05:58.720 into the big classical companies. Exactly. And 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:01.540 that debut, it really set the stage for the next 00:06:01.540 --> 00:06:05.000 huge period for him. The Shakespearean apex, 00:06:05.019 --> 00:06:07.540 you could call it. The 80s and 90s? Yeah. Spending 00:06:07.540 --> 00:06:10.319 seasons working with the absolute titans of British 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:13.079 theater. The Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal 00:06:13.079 --> 00:06:15.540 National Theatre. This is where he properly cemented 00:06:15.540 --> 00:06:19.509 his status then as a classical giant. Absolutely. 00:06:19.910 --> 00:06:22.589 Gaining that deep, textual rigor, that understanding 00:06:22.589 --> 00:06:25.230 of the classics, that allowed him to pivot later 00:06:25.230 --> 00:06:28.209 into, well, pretty much any genre he wanted. 00:06:28.329 --> 00:06:30.129 And the awards started coming, too. The big ones. 00:06:30.230 --> 00:06:33.410 They did. 1984, first Laurence Olivier Award. 00:06:33.970 --> 00:06:36.670 Best actor in a new play for playing Inspector 00:06:36.670 --> 00:06:38.759 Nelson in Rat in the Skull. And that's interesting, 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:41.000 isn't it? Because it highlights his versatility 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:43.540 right away. It wasn't just for dusting off Shakespeare. 00:06:43.699 --> 00:06:46.379 It was for new, contemporary, hard -hitting drama. 00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:48.839 Spot on. And he even took that role off Broadway 00:06:48.839 --> 00:06:51.180 later that year. But the real height of his stage 00:06:51.180 --> 00:06:53.980 power arguably came a few years later. Ah, yes. 00:06:54.100 --> 00:06:56.839 Four years later. Second Olivier Award. This 00:06:56.839 --> 00:07:00.079 time, Best Actor in a Revival. And the role. 00:07:01.689 --> 00:07:04.290 the terrifying title character in Titus Andronicus. 00:07:04.509 --> 00:07:07.089 In 1988? Titus Andronicus, wow. And what's really 00:07:07.089 --> 00:07:09.750 fascinating here is that Cox himself, he's later 00:07:09.750 --> 00:07:12.430 cited his performance in Titus as the greatest 00:07:12.430 --> 00:07:14.990 he's ever given on stage. That is a huge claim. 00:07:15.029 --> 00:07:16.689 I mean, considering the sheer volume of work 00:07:16.689 --> 00:07:19.310 he's done since. But Titus, I mean, that's not 00:07:19.310 --> 00:07:22.209 exactly lightfare, is it? Not remotely. It's 00:07:22.209 --> 00:07:25.290 probably Shakespeare's bloodiest, most relentlessly 00:07:25.290 --> 00:07:30.800 tragic play, full of just... horror. So... What 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:33.660 does it tell us that he picks that role, that 00:07:33.660 --> 00:07:36.480 performance, as his peak? What does that say 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:38.680 about his artistic commitment? Well, I think 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:40.459 it tells us his artistic heartbeats for that 00:07:40.459 --> 00:07:42.579 kind of intensity, you know, emotional and physical 00:07:42.579 --> 00:07:44.980 intensity, for roles that demand the actor stares 00:07:44.980 --> 00:07:48.399 right into the abyss of human cruelty, of madness. 00:07:48.579 --> 00:07:51.120 That commitment, that intensity, it seems to 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:53.079 run deep. It really does. And it's highlighted 00:07:53.079 --> 00:07:55.139 even more by the fact that he actually returned 00:07:55.139 --> 00:07:57.920 from spending years teaching and directing over 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:00.519 at the Moscow Arts Theatre School. which is incredibly 00:08:00.519 --> 00:08:03.259 prestigious itself. Right. He came back specifically 00:08:03.259 --> 00:08:06.279 to tour globally as the title role in King Lear. 00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:09.339 That was between 1990 and 1991. King Lear. Okay, 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:11.199 that's known as like the Everest for actors, 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:13.680 isn't it? Absolutely. Physically draining, emotionally 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:16.160 devastating. Requires absolute mastery of the 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:18.779 verse, the psychology, everything. So how did 00:08:18.779 --> 00:08:20.899 he handle that, that pressure cooker of a role? 00:08:21.379 --> 00:08:23.699 Well... The toll, the physical and psychological 00:08:23.699 --> 00:08:26.279 toll was apparently so profound that the whole 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:28.660 experience actually inspired his first book, 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:31.779 The Lear Diaries, published in 95. He wrote a 00:08:31.779 --> 00:08:36.500 book about playing Lear. Yeah. And it meticulously 00:08:36.500 --> 00:08:39.379 detailed, according to the source, the emotional 00:08:39.379 --> 00:08:41.899 and physical difficulties that came with playing 00:08:41.899 --> 00:08:45.019 such an all consuming role. Wow. So it wasn't 00:08:45.019 --> 00:08:48.419 just like anecdotes from the tour bus. No, no. 00:08:48.419 --> 00:08:50.299 It sounds like it was more like an academic. 00:08:51.050 --> 00:08:54.110 accounting of the process, the sheer work involved. 00:08:54.669 --> 00:08:56.629 Can you elaborate a bit on what those difficulties 00:08:56.629 --> 00:08:58.809 actually looked like? Because that level of self 00:08:58.809 --> 00:09:01.070 -reflection, it feels quite rare for an actor 00:09:01.070 --> 00:09:03.350 who's maintaining such a busy schedule. Sure. 00:09:03.990 --> 00:09:06.029 From what the sources suggest, the Lear Diaries 00:09:06.029 --> 00:09:08.070 gives this unique insight into the day -to -day 00:09:08.070 --> 00:09:10.590 grind, the pressure. He talked about battling 00:09:10.590 --> 00:09:13.750 physical fatigue. the struggle just to keep his 00:09:13.750 --> 00:09:16.490 voice healthy night after night, month after 00:09:16.490 --> 00:09:19.309 month on tour. And the emotional toll, obviously, 00:09:19.409 --> 00:09:21.450 of having to conjure up that level of grief, 00:09:21.549 --> 00:09:24.049 that rage, eight times a week. Yeah, I can't 00:09:24.049 --> 00:09:26.370 even imagine. He also wrote about the pressure, 00:09:26.370 --> 00:09:28.870 you know, of stepping into a role that had been 00:09:28.870 --> 00:09:31.710 defined by giants before him, Olivier, Gilgud, 00:09:31.889 --> 00:09:34.750 Schofield. And the intellectual work needed to 00:09:34.750 --> 00:09:37.350 find something new, something relevant in this 00:09:37.350 --> 00:09:40.220 enigmatic figure of Lear. So this documented 00:09:40.220 --> 00:09:42.419 commitment, it really proves that for Cox, acting 00:09:42.419 --> 00:09:44.299 isn't just about hitting your marks or saying 00:09:44.299 --> 00:09:46.000 the lines. And not at all, it's an intellectual 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:49.159 odyssey, you know? A quest for truth within the 00:09:49.159 --> 00:09:51.740 text, and that becomes the foundational bedrock 00:09:51.740 --> 00:09:53.659 for every single character he's ever played on 00:09:53.659 --> 00:09:56.320 screen. Doesn't matter how small or how commercial 00:09:56.320 --> 00:09:58.899 the project might seem. Okay, so those deep, 00:09:59.100 --> 00:10:02.679 often... exhausting classical foundations you 00:10:02.679 --> 00:10:05.519 mentioned. They're exactly what allowed him to 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:08.240 make that pivot then successfully into film and 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:11.700 TV. Right. And starting with some pretty heavy 00:10:11.700 --> 00:10:13.820 kind of surprising early appearances that really 00:10:13.820 --> 00:10:16.360 show off his media gravitas. Like his very first 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:19.379 film role, which came relatively early, 1971. 00:10:19.940 --> 00:10:22.460 He played Leon Trotsky in Nicholas and Alexandra. 00:10:23.059 --> 00:10:25.740 Trotsky? I mean, that's a figure of immense political 00:10:25.740 --> 00:10:28.929 historical weight, isn't it? Totally. So how 00:10:28.929 --> 00:10:31.870 does a young actor, you know, relatively fresh 00:10:31.870 --> 00:10:35.049 out of Lambda, still finding his feet, how does 00:10:35.049 --> 00:10:38.009 he approach playing a revolutionary icon like 00:10:38.009 --> 00:10:40.889 that without decades of experience to draw on? 00:10:40.990 --> 00:10:42.750 Well, it seems he approached it with that same 00:10:42.750 --> 00:10:45.049 textual rigor, that intellectual commitment we 00:10:45.049 --> 00:10:46.950 talked about. That's the stage actor's hallmark. 00:10:47.090 --> 00:10:50.110 OK. He played Trotsky with this sort of quiet 00:10:50.110 --> 00:10:53.450 intensity, relying on presence, not histrionics. 00:10:53.929 --> 00:10:56.070 But even before that film role, he was already 00:10:56.070 --> 00:10:58.639 busy on British television. His first TV appearance 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:02.220 was way back in 1965. 65. Same year he graduated 00:11:02.220 --> 00:11:04.700 LMDA. Yep. An episode of the Wednesday Play, 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:06.600 which, you know, for people who remember, was 00:11:06.600 --> 00:11:09.519 a really crucial outlet for serious, often quite 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:11.539 politically charged British drama back then. 00:11:11.700 --> 00:11:14.019 Right. So he was a steady fixture in those kinds 00:11:14.019 --> 00:11:16.580 of serious British dramas through the 70s and 00:11:16.580 --> 00:11:19.779 80s. I saw he played King Henry II in a BBC serial, 00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:22.720 The Devil's Crown. Yeah. 1978. Yeah. And starred 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:25.120 opposite Alan Rickman, actually in a BBC adaptation 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:28.440 of Therese Rock in 81. Okay. But the really eye 00:11:28.440 --> 00:11:30.820 -opening, almost kind of surreal film role comes 00:11:30.820 --> 00:11:33.559 in 1986. And this one's pretty crucial for cinema 00:11:33.559 --> 00:11:36.340 history, actually. Ah, yes. The role people often 00:11:36.340 --> 00:11:39.100 forget about. The original Hannibal Lecter. That's 00:11:39.100 --> 00:11:42.279 the one. In 1986, he portrayed Hannibal Lecter, 00:11:42.379 --> 00:11:45.139 although it was spelled L -E -C -K -T -O -R back 00:11:45.139 --> 00:11:46.559 then. Right. In Michael Mann's Manhunter. In 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:48.639 Michael Mann's Manhunter. And this marks the 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:51.950 character's absolute debut on film. predating 00:11:51.950 --> 00:11:54.529 Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs by five 00:11:54.529 --> 00:11:56.809 whole years. It's a critical point, isn't it? 00:11:56.950 --> 00:11:59.330 Because when you think lecture now, you almost 00:11:59.330 --> 00:12:01.809 exclusively picture Hopkins, right? Yeah. That's 00:12:01.809 --> 00:12:06.100 slightly more... bombastic theatrical performance. 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:09.799 Totally. So what did Cox's stage discipline bring 00:12:09.799 --> 00:12:12.720 to that character, to Lecter, that was maybe 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:15.240 different, unique? Well Cox's version is far 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:18.019 more understated, much colder, more intellectual. 00:12:18.460 --> 00:12:21.039 He uses that stage discipline for this terrifying 00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:23.360 restraint. Okay. There's very little flashiness. 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:26.100 The evil is conveyed through this menacing stillness 00:12:26.100 --> 00:12:28.779 and really carefully modulated language. It's 00:12:28.779 --> 00:12:31.970 a quiet, calculating villain. all psychological 00:12:31.970 --> 00:12:34.490 weight. Which is kind of the perfect use of classical 00:12:34.490 --> 00:12:37.190 training in a cinematic context, right? Exactly. 00:12:37.450 --> 00:12:40.049 It established this precedent that the character's 00:12:40.049 --> 00:12:42.409 power really lay in his mind, his composure, 00:12:42.789 --> 00:12:45.809 not necessarily in spectacle. So after proving 00:12:45.809 --> 00:12:48.490 he could anchor these major historical figures 00:12:48.490 --> 00:12:52.600 and these quietly terrifying villains... The 00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:55.019 1990s, that's when his career really breaks through, 00:12:55.100 --> 00:12:57.620 puts him on Hollywood's map properly. The source 00:12:57.620 --> 00:12:59.919 even calls it his super stardom period. Yeah, 00:12:59.980 --> 00:13:01.659 the mid 90s were definitely a turning point. 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:04.960 You got a BAFTA TV Award nomination in 93 Best 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:08.299 Actor for a really powerful role as Owen Benjamin, 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:10.639 this closeted father dealing with a personal 00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:12.580 crisis in the lost language of cranes. Right, 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:16.080 1991 that was. Showed his capacity for that deep 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:19.000 character driven drama on TV. But the film side 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:21.750 just exploded in 1995. It's pretty remarkable. 00:13:22.029 --> 00:13:24.809 Actually, he was a key antagonist in two massive 00:13:24.809 --> 00:13:26.909 Scottish historical epics that came out the very 00:13:26.909 --> 00:13:29.129 same year. Oh, yeah. He played the Ruthless Killern 00:13:29.129 --> 00:13:31.470 in Rob Roy. Yep. Got a Bow to Scotland nomination 00:13:31.470 --> 00:13:33.769 for that. And Argyle Wallace and Mel Gibson's 00:13:33.769 --> 00:13:36.450 Braveheart, the Oscar winner. The sheer versatility 00:13:36.450 --> 00:13:40.409 in just that achievement playing two dramatically 00:13:40.409 --> 00:13:43.159 distinct. yet historically grounded Scottish 00:13:43.159 --> 00:13:46.639 figures in these huge high profile films back 00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:48.340 -to -back. He must have signaled something to 00:13:48.340 --> 00:13:50.259 Hollywood, right? Oh, definitely. Signaled that 00:13:50.259 --> 00:13:52.460 he was this reliable source of authenticity, 00:13:52.820 --> 00:13:55.740 a commanding presence, the go -to guy for gravitas. 00:13:55.879 --> 00:13:58.320 And that decade just kept showcasing his range. 00:13:58.500 --> 00:14:01.480 Later on, he was in that neo -noir thriller Kiss 00:14:01.480 --> 00:14:04.320 the Girls. 97. Yeah, with Morgan Freeman. And 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:07.059 played an IRA member, Joe Hamill, in the boxer 00:14:07.059 --> 00:14:10.039 with Daniel Day -Lewis, also 97, just effortlessly 00:14:10.039 --> 00:14:13.240 moving between genres, complex political settings. 00:14:13.419 --> 00:14:15.580 And then you can't skip the real sort of turn 00:14:15.580 --> 00:14:19.019 of the century surprise. His role in Wes Anderson's 00:14:19.019 --> 00:14:22.399 unique world. Ah, Rushmore. Rushmore, yeah. 1998, 00:14:22.820 --> 00:14:24.740 playing the headmaster, Dr. Nelson Guggenheim, 00:14:24.940 --> 00:14:27.019 opposite Bill Murray. And Rushmore ended up being 00:14:27.019 --> 00:14:28.679 preserved by the Library of Congress, didn't 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:31.559 it, for its cultural significance? It did. which 00:14:31.559 --> 00:14:33.720 is key, I think. It just shows his ability to 00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:36.759 move completely seamlessly between, you know, 00:14:37.059 --> 00:14:40.360 gritty historical epics, serious political thrillers, 00:14:40.580 --> 00:14:44.159 and then this highly stylized, culturally significant 00:14:44.159 --> 00:14:46.440 indie cinema. He could be the tough guy, the 00:14:46.440 --> 00:14:50.259 villain. or the gentle, slightly bewildered headmaster. 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:52.179 Absolutely. He wasn't just the actor you hired 00:14:52.179 --> 00:14:54.860 for, like, Fury Gravidas anymore. He was the 00:14:54.860 --> 00:14:57.659 actor who could elevate any project with his 00:14:57.659 --> 00:15:00.340 intellectual depth, adapting that core stage 00:15:00.340 --> 00:15:02.659 discipline to the very specific demands of a 00:15:02.659 --> 00:15:05.320 director like Wes Anderson. Okay, so the 2000s 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:07.139 arrive, and this really solidifies his role, 00:15:07.279 --> 00:15:09.639 doesn't it, as this indispensable Hollywood character 00:15:09.639 --> 00:15:11.740 actor, the guy you bring in to deliver intense 00:15:11.740 --> 00:15:14.100 performances, whether he's anchoring a prestige 00:15:14.100 --> 00:15:16.759 historical drama or just adding that necessary 00:15:16.809 --> 00:15:20.070 to a big blockbuster franchise. Yeah, and the 00:15:20.070 --> 00:15:22.549 awards really started stacking up almost immediately 00:15:22.549 --> 00:15:25.110 in that decade. He won the Primetime Emmy Best 00:15:25.110 --> 00:15:27.269 Supporting Actor in a limited series for his 00:15:27.269 --> 00:15:29.570 really powerful portrayal of Herman Guring in 00:15:29.570 --> 00:15:32.549 that TV film, Nuremberg. That was 2001. Guring, 00:15:32.909 --> 00:15:34.789 again, playing one of the most infamous figures 00:15:34.789 --> 00:15:38.200 of the 20th century. You can see how he'd need 00:15:38.200 --> 00:15:40.519 that classical technique, right? The ability 00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:43.379 to hold the stage, command attention, to ground 00:15:43.379 --> 00:15:46.059 such an extreme historical villain. Absolutely. 00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:49.159 And then in a tonal shift that just perfectly 00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:51.840 shows off his versatility, he proved he could 00:15:51.840 --> 00:15:54.480 handle high -level sitcom comedy, too. Oh, yeah. 00:15:54.720 --> 00:15:57.799 Got a second Emmy nomination in 2002. for guest 00:15:57.799 --> 00:16:00.759 starring as Harry Moon Daphne's dad in two episodes 00:16:00.759 --> 00:16:03.919 of Frasier. No way. From Herman Guring to Frasier. 00:16:04.019 --> 00:16:07.259 That's a massive, almost impossible artistic 00:16:07.259 --> 00:16:09.500 swing, isn't it? It's incredible range, delivering 00:16:09.500 --> 00:16:11.779 the weight of history one minute and the lightness 00:16:11.779 --> 00:16:14.419 of witty, neurotic comedy the next. with equal 00:16:14.419 --> 00:16:16.480 precision. He was also a fixture in some highly 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:18.519 regarded HBO series around then, too, wasn't 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:20.620 he? Yeah, he portrayed Jack Langridge in the 00:16:20.620 --> 00:16:22.879 Western Deadwood. But the real complexity of 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:24.919 his career paths around this time, that sort 00:16:24.919 --> 00:16:28.100 of financial and artistic duality, is maybe best 00:16:28.100 --> 00:16:29.960 shown by two radically different films he did 00:16:29.960 --> 00:16:32.899 around 2001, 2002. OK, right. Here's where it 00:16:32.899 --> 00:16:34.899 gets really interesting, I think, and where you 00:16:34.899 --> 00:16:37.779 have to sort of analyze the... I don't know, 00:16:38.200 --> 00:16:40.779 artistic compromise or maybe it's artistic expansion. 00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:44.899 How does someone pivot from doing a raw, emotionally 00:16:44.899 --> 00:16:48.419 draining, low -budget indie film like L .I .E.? 00:16:48.419 --> 00:16:51.240 That was a tough one. To immediately becoming 00:16:51.240 --> 00:16:54.440 this fixture in massive Hollywood franchises 00:16:54.440 --> 00:16:57.100 like The Bourne Identity and X -Men. Was that 00:16:57.100 --> 00:16:59.980 just, you know, pragmatic? paying the bills? 00:17:00.220 --> 00:17:02.419 Well, that pivot is absolutely key to understanding 00:17:02.419 --> 00:17:05.859 his modern career strategy, I think. So 2001, 00:17:05.859 --> 00:17:08.119 he gets immense critical acclaim for starring 00:17:08.119 --> 00:17:10.480 as Big John Harrigan in the independent film 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:12.480 LAE. Right, the character who was a paedophile. 00:17:12.619 --> 00:17:15.779 Yeah. Extremely challenging role. Hugely challenging, 00:17:16.039 --> 00:17:18.480 morally ambiguous, emotionally heavy. He won 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:20.660 a satellite award for best actor for that, got 00:17:20.660 --> 00:17:23.000 an independent Spirit Award nomination. This 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:25.799 was high stakes, artistically demanding work, 00:17:26.220 --> 00:17:28.279 required immense sensitivity, dramatic weight. 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:30.059 It sounds like the kind of role that could really 00:17:30.059 --> 00:17:32.680 burn an actor out, demands total emotional investment. 00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:35.420 It does. And yet, almost simultaneously, he's 00:17:35.420 --> 00:17:38.640 embedding himself deep into major, popular, highly 00:17:38.640 --> 00:17:40.900 commercial Hollywood cinema. OK, so what's happening 00:17:40.900 --> 00:17:45.380 there? So 2002, he delivers this kind of dual 00:17:45.380 --> 00:17:48.539 brilliance. On one hand, he shares a Screen Actors 00:17:48.539 --> 00:17:50.720 Guild Award nomination as part of the amazing 00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:53.779 ensemble cast of Spike Jonze's adaptation. Oh, 00:17:53.799 --> 00:17:56.039 adaptation, where he played Robert McKee, the 00:17:56.039 --> 00:17:58.160 screenwriting guru. Exactly. playing the real 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:00.259 life teacher, delivering those iconic lectures, 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:02.799 which showed his intellectual engagement with 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:05.680 the craft itself right there on screen. And then 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:08.519 the action blockbuster. Precisely. The exact 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:12.079 same year, 2002, he stars as the corrupt CIA 00:18:12.079 --> 00:18:14.779 official Ward Abbott in the first Bourne movie, 00:18:15.220 --> 00:18:17.460 The Bourne Identity. Right. A role he came back 00:18:17.460 --> 00:18:19.400 to in The Bourne Supremacy a couple of years 00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:22.559 later. So within this really short span, he's 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:25.119 navigating the demanding world of morally dark 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:28.940 indie. film, LIE, intellectual metafiction adaptation, 00:18:29.539 --> 00:18:32.259 and the high octane global espionage franchise 00:18:32.259 --> 00:18:35.099 world, born. So what does that transition actually 00:18:35.099 --> 00:18:37.079 demand of him as an actor? It feels like it's 00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:38.779 almost a different technical language between 00:18:38.779 --> 00:18:40.920 those projects. Well, I think it demands the 00:18:40.920 --> 00:18:43.000 ability to switch the application of his core 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:45.180 training. Does that make sense? Yeah, explain. 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:49.319 OK, so in LIE, that stage discipline is used 00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:53.940 for internalizing conveying quiet menace, moral 00:18:53.940 --> 00:18:57.099 decay, all that heavy stuff. In Bourne, that 00:18:57.099 --> 00:18:59.660 same stage discipline, the command of space, 00:18:59.920 --> 00:19:02.779 the clarity of diction, the economy of movement, 00:19:03.460 --> 00:19:05.619 it's applied differently. It's used to make Ward 00:19:05.619 --> 00:19:07.779 Abbott, who's mostly just sitting behind a desk, 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:09.859 right? To make him feel like the most powerful, 00:19:09.900 --> 00:19:12.259 most dangerous man in the room. His presence 00:19:12.259 --> 00:19:14.460 grounds all the spectacle. It lends credibility 00:19:14.460 --> 00:19:16.660 to the whole action plot. And the blockbuster 00:19:16.660 --> 00:19:19.650 money, presumably. Well... One Suspects, yeah. 00:19:19.910 --> 00:19:21.690 That probably allowed him the freedom to keep 00:19:21.690 --> 00:19:24.309 pursuing the more esoteric, challenging stage 00:19:24.309 --> 00:19:26.990 work in those smaller films. It's a smart balance. 00:19:27.210 --> 00:19:29.390 His presence definitely became synonymous with 00:19:29.390 --> 00:19:32.369 that kind of commanding, often villainous power 00:19:32.369 --> 00:19:35.109 in those mid -2000s franchises. He was the main 00:19:35.109 --> 00:19:38.130 villain, William Straker, in X2, X -Men United 00:19:38.130 --> 00:19:41.089 in 2003. Yep. And he played that alternate sort 00:19:41.089 --> 00:19:43.890 of villainous version of King Agamemnon in Wolfgang 00:19:43.890 --> 00:19:47.359 Petersen's big epic Troy in 2004. Even in those 00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:49.960 huge CGI -heavy epics, you can still kind of 00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:52.559 sense the textual rigor, can't you? That Shakespearean 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:54.819 training informing the choices he's making. Definitely. 00:19:55.039 --> 00:19:57.319 And the roles he took weren't just like generic 00:19:57.319 --> 00:20:00.420 villains. They were figures of immense authority, 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:03.779 often struggling with destiny or control. Think 00:20:03.779 --> 00:20:07.440 about his work in that 2005 BBC film, Blue Orange, 00:20:08.140 --> 00:20:11.299 exploring race and mental illness. Right. Or... 00:20:11.079 --> 00:20:13.039 playing the patriarch in Woody Allen's match 00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:16.099 point. He constantly maintains this duality, 00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:18.380 doesn't he? High -minded, socially relevant art 00:20:18.380 --> 00:20:20.980 right alongside necessary, high -profile commercial 00:20:20.980 --> 00:20:22.940 work. And just before he landed the role that 00:20:22.940 --> 00:20:25.220 would redefine his later career... Logan Roy? 00:20:25.339 --> 00:20:27.619 Yeah, before Logan, he took on another massive 00:20:27.619 --> 00:20:30.000 historical figure, Winston Churchill, in that 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:33.039 2017 film Churchill. Critically acclaimed historical 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:35.960 war drama, yeah. A huge role to take on. But 00:20:35.960 --> 00:20:38.059 by then, you know, commanding figures, kings, 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:40.740 generals, tyrants, patriarchs, they were... absolutely 00:20:40.740 --> 00:20:42.880 squarely in his repertoire. The foundation was 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:44.640 well and truly laid for what was coming next. 00:20:45.819 --> 00:20:48.119 And that, of course, brings us right to it. The 00:20:48.119 --> 00:20:50.519 ultimate, maybe, realization of the classical 00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:53.839 patriarch on the modern screen, Logan Roy. Yeah. 00:20:54.420 --> 00:20:58.220 From 2018 to 2023, Brian Cox starred as the billionaire 00:20:58.220 --> 00:21:02.500 founder, the patriarch of Waystar Royco on HBO's 00:21:02.500 --> 00:21:06.339 Succession. In this role, it brought him truly 00:21:06.339 --> 00:21:09.910 global mainstream recognition. Probably unlike 00:21:09.910 --> 00:21:11.869 anything else in his whole career up to that 00:21:11.869 --> 00:21:14.210 point. The performance was just lauded, wasn't 00:21:14.210 --> 00:21:16.329 it? Precisely because of that immense gravitas 00:21:16.329 --> 00:21:18.289 he brought to a character who is often, you know, 00:21:18.589 --> 00:21:20.430 physically quite immobile sitting at the head 00:21:20.430 --> 00:21:23.470 of a table maybe, yet just radiating this toxic 00:21:23.470 --> 00:21:26.670 power. He won the Golden Globe for Best Actor 00:21:26.670 --> 00:21:29.750 in a Drama Series in 2019. And got three Primetime 00:21:29.750 --> 00:21:32.130 Emmy nominations for the role over the show's 00:21:32.130 --> 00:21:34.549 run. Logan Roy feels like the ultimate synthesis, 00:21:34.589 --> 00:21:36.839 doesn't he? of all those decades of work. I think 00:21:36.839 --> 00:21:39.119 that's exactly right. He used that stage discipline, 00:21:39.240 --> 00:21:41.500 the stuff honed, playing King Lear and Titus 00:21:41.500 --> 00:21:44.279 Andronic as a control, the vocal precision, the 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:46.440 ability to just dominate a scene with minimal 00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:48.660 movement. Yeah. And he applied all of that to 00:21:48.660 --> 00:21:50.519 the world of corporate America. He treated the 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:52.819 boardroom, the family estate, like his modern 00:21:52.819 --> 00:21:56.200 kingdom, beset by treacherous scheming courtiers 00:21:56.200 --> 00:21:58.539 who just happened to be his own children. And 00:21:58.539 --> 00:22:03.019 that famous use of certain profanity. The F -bomb, 00:22:03.140 --> 00:22:05.220 yeah. It wasn't just swearing, was it? It felt 00:22:05.220 --> 00:22:08.099 like the roar of this wounded, frustrated king 00:22:08.099 --> 00:22:10.660 who's losing control of his own succession plan. 00:22:11.019 --> 00:22:13.880 Absolutely. But what's really remarkable, I think, 00:22:14.200 --> 00:22:17.740 is how he managed to keep up this versatile working 00:22:17.740 --> 00:22:20.700 pace even while he was dominating one of the 00:22:20.700 --> 00:22:23.140 biggest prestige dramas on television. He didn't 00:22:23.140 --> 00:22:25.059 just become Logan Roy and stop everything else. 00:22:25.180 --> 00:22:27.359 No, he kept that character actor engine running. 00:22:27.470 --> 00:22:29.529 almost like he needed these, I don't know, artistic 00:22:29.529 --> 00:22:31.529 palette cleansers or something. He certainly 00:22:31.529 --> 00:22:34.349 seemed to. Back in 2018, when Succession was 00:22:34.349 --> 00:22:37.190 just kicking off, he reprised his role as Captain 00:22:37.190 --> 00:22:39.849 John O 'Hagan in the comedy sequel, Super Troopers 00:22:39.849 --> 00:22:42.369 2. Super Troopers 2. That's hilarious. And he 00:22:42.369 --> 00:22:44.690 openly joked about it. Said his condition for 00:22:44.690 --> 00:22:47.549 coming back to that pretty farcical comedy was 00:22:47.549 --> 00:22:49.569 that he had to get a big action scene with rockets 00:22:49.569 --> 00:22:52.150 and explosions. That willingness, though, to 00:22:52.150 --> 00:22:54.650 just jump back into these lighthearted fan favorite 00:22:54.650 --> 00:22:58.630 roles? It says a lot, doesn't it, about his lack 00:22:58.630 --> 00:23:01.509 of professional sort of pretense, despite the 00:23:01.509 --> 00:23:03.430 classical background, the intellectual weight. 00:23:03.829 --> 00:23:06.269 Yeah, he seems genuinely comfortable moving between 00:23:06.269 --> 00:23:09.670 high tragedy and outright slapstick. And his 00:23:09.670 --> 00:23:11.829 more recent film projects, they continue to show 00:23:11.829 --> 00:23:14.930 that diversity too. Still committed to independent, 00:23:15.190 --> 00:23:17.910 thoughtful cinema. Yeah, he starred in that 2022 00:23:17.910 --> 00:23:20.410 political thriller, The Independent. But look 00:23:20.410 --> 00:23:22.990 closer at his work in another 2022 film, the 00:23:22.990 --> 00:23:25.309 American drama Mending the Line. He was also 00:23:25.309 --> 00:23:27.529 an executive producer on that one. Oh, right. 00:23:27.589 --> 00:23:29.990 What was that about? He played a Vietnam veteran 00:23:29.990 --> 00:23:32.789 who teaches a young, injured soldier how to fly 00:23:32.789 --> 00:23:35.369 fish, basically as a way to cope with his physical 00:23:35.369 --> 00:23:39.470 and emotional trauma. Wow. That role, mentoring 00:23:39.470 --> 00:23:41.730 someone through trauma like that requires immense 00:23:41.730 --> 00:23:44.710 tenderness, doesn't it? Patience, gravitas, worlds 00:23:44.710 --> 00:23:47.289 away from Logan Roy, shouting at his kids or 00:23:47.289 --> 00:23:49.549 playing corporate chess. Totally. It's a quiet, 00:23:49.869 --> 00:23:52.410 supportive performance, relies on that subtle 00:23:52.410 --> 00:23:54.930 humanity he can access when he needs to. And 00:23:54.930 --> 00:23:57.049 even more compellingly, maybe, his commitment 00:23:57.049 --> 00:23:59.829 to the stage just hasn't stopped. Despite his 00:23:59.829 --> 00:24:02.869 age, despite a massive success and global fame 00:24:02.869 --> 00:24:05.039 from succession, He went back to the theater 00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:08.319 in 2023. He did. Played the lead role, Johann 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:11.559 Sebastian Bach, in a play called The Score, first 00:24:11.559 --> 00:24:14.180 at the Theatre Royal in Bath, and then it transferred 00:24:14.180 --> 00:24:16.740 to the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London this 00:24:16.740 --> 00:24:21.089 year, 2025. Playing Bach. Another intensely demanding, 00:24:21.089 --> 00:24:23.430 intellectual, historical figure. It just shows, 00:24:23.529 --> 00:24:25.789 doesn't it? The stage isn't just a memory for 00:24:25.789 --> 00:24:28.470 him. It's still his primary artistic anchor. 00:24:28.869 --> 00:24:31.210 And that commitment loops right back to his origins. 00:24:31.589 --> 00:24:34.710 In 2025, he's set to perform at a new James Graham 00:24:34.710 --> 00:24:37.410 play, Make It Happen, in Edinburgh. Plain who? 00:24:37.809 --> 00:24:40.049 Adam Smith. Wow. The father of modern economics. 00:24:40.109 --> 00:24:42.509 Wow. And this marks his first return to performing 00:24:42.509 --> 00:24:45.759 on a Scottish stage in a decade. It just confirms, 00:24:45.799 --> 00:24:48.720 again, that for Cox, theater remains this continuous 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:50.880 vital part of his working life and a way for 00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:53.180 him to keep engaging with big intellectual and 00:24:53.180 --> 00:24:57.000 historical ideas. Okay, so if the immense body 00:24:57.000 --> 00:24:59.180 of stage and screen work wasn't already enough 00:24:59.180 --> 00:25:01.240 to secure his legacy, we have to talk about his 00:25:01.240 --> 00:25:03.599 third career almost, which is the audio landscape, 00:25:03.940 --> 00:25:06.640 using that iconic authoritative voice. Oh yeah, 00:25:06.920 --> 00:25:09.220 that voice is instantly recognizable, isn't it? 00:25:09.240 --> 00:25:12.099 Yeah. And he's leveraged it incredibly well across 00:25:12.099 --> 00:25:15.750 films, video games, audiobooks, you name it. 00:25:15.819 --> 00:25:18.980 It's that voice honed on the RSC stage, articulating 00:25:18.980 --> 00:25:21.579 Shakespeare's verse. Exactly. And it found this 00:25:21.579 --> 00:25:24.200 whole new, probably quite lucrative kingdom in 00:25:24.200 --> 00:25:27.059 the audio world. He's had huge success voicing 00:25:27.059 --> 00:25:30.819 the ruthless Emperor Scholar Vizari in the Killzone 00:25:30.819 --> 00:25:33.339 video game trilogy. Right. Starting back in 2004. 00:25:33.480 --> 00:25:35.480 Yeah. And he was the main antagonist, Lionel 00:25:35.480 --> 00:25:37.839 Starkweather, in that infamous, controversial 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:41.039 game, Manhunt, in 2003. He brings that genuine, 00:25:41.539 --> 00:25:44.059 serious, almost Shakespearean villain energy 00:25:44.059 --> 00:25:46.160 to those digital characters. He gives them a 00:25:46.160 --> 00:25:48.619 complexity that maybe goes beyond typical video 00:25:48.619 --> 00:25:50.559 game baddies. It's a perfect marriage, really. 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:52.819 Classical tone, modern commercial use. And his 00:25:52.819 --> 00:25:56.079 voice work in film and TV is just as vast. He 00:25:56.079 --> 00:25:58.220 was the ood elder in that Doctor Who Christmas 00:25:58.220 --> 00:26:02.059 special, The End of Time. Provided the deep resonating 00:26:02.059 --> 00:26:04.799 voice of Death Capital D in the Good Omens adaptation 00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:07.720 in 2019. narrated Terry Pratchett's The Color 00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:10.880 of Magic. And looking ahead, he's voicing Helm 00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:12.900 Hammerhand in the animated Lord of the Rings 00:26:12.900 --> 00:26:15.420 film The War of the Rohirrim later this year. 00:26:15.740 --> 00:26:17.640 And beyond the character voice roles, he's a 00:26:17.640 --> 00:26:20.420 significant audiobook narrator, too. He did the 00:26:20.420 --> 00:26:23.039 underbridge Dracula. Bram Stoker's novel way 00:26:23.039 --> 00:26:26.019 back in 97, capturing all that Gothic dread. 00:26:26.279 --> 00:26:29.420 Narrated Tolkien's epic poem, The Legend of Sigurd 00:26:29.420 --> 00:26:32.740 and Gudrun in 2010. And of course, he provided 00:26:32.740 --> 00:26:35.859 that rich, reflective narration for his own autobiography, 00:26:36.200 --> 00:26:38.059 Putting the Rabbit in the Hat, just a few years 00:26:38.059 --> 00:26:40.859 ago in 2021. Now, we do need to address something 00:26:40.859 --> 00:26:43.380 the source material highlights here regarding 00:26:43.380 --> 00:26:46.599 his audio work. It mentions he narrated a documentary 00:26:46.599 --> 00:26:49.099 called The Revelation of the Pyramids in 2010. 00:26:49.240 --> 00:26:52.079 Ah, yes. And the source notes that this particular 00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:54.640 documentary has been criticized for supporting 00:26:54.640 --> 00:26:57.500 anti -Semitic and negationist conspiracy theories. 00:26:57.660 --> 00:26:59.599 Right. So that's an uncomfortable element in 00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:02.000 his otherwise pretty stellar body of work that 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:04.259 we just have to acknowledge. It shows that even 00:27:04.259 --> 00:27:06.759 really prolific respected artists can sometimes 00:27:06.759 --> 00:27:09.759 lend their talents, perhaps unwittingly, to projects 00:27:09.759 --> 00:27:11.940 with problematic foundations. It's important 00:27:11.940 --> 00:27:14.279 to note, yeah. Okay, moving on from the voice 00:27:14.279 --> 00:27:15.880 work, let's get into his personal commitments. 00:27:16.619 --> 00:27:20.079 His political life, his philosophical views, 00:27:20.700 --> 00:27:24.160 they seem almost as complex and robust as his 00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:27.000 theatrical history. He's described himself as 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:29.980 a democratic socialist and also a Scottish Republican, 00:27:30.420 --> 00:27:34.240 but his actual political journey, it shows more 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:37.410 intellectual independence maybe than just rigid 00:27:37.410 --> 00:27:40.190 party loyalty. Yeah, his political path has been 00:27:40.190 --> 00:27:42.349 really fascinating, precisely because of those 00:27:42.349 --> 00:27:45.289 deep convictions. He was an active, committed 00:27:45.289 --> 00:27:49.029 labors of honor for nearly 50 years, since 1967, 00:27:49.430 --> 00:27:52.130 right up until 2015. The 50 years, that's lifelong 00:27:52.130 --> 00:27:54.470 commitment for most people. What changed? Well, 00:27:54.549 --> 00:27:56.589 he became deeply disillusioned, apparently, by 00:27:56.589 --> 00:27:59.380 Tony Blair's decision on the Iraq War. He saw 00:27:59.380 --> 00:28:01.440 it as a profound betrayal of traditional labor, 00:28:01.799 --> 00:28:03.940 traditional socialist principles. It caused a 00:28:03.940 --> 00:28:06.900 major ideological break for him. And that disillusionment, 00:28:06.900 --> 00:28:09.519 it led him to shift his allegiance pretty dramatically, 00:28:09.619 --> 00:28:12.880 didn't it? It did. In 2015, he joined the Scottish 00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:15.740 National Party, the SMP, started supporting Scottish 00:28:15.740 --> 00:28:17.420 independence, although he actually couldn't vote 00:28:17.420 --> 00:28:19.039 in the 2014 referendum because he was living 00:28:19.039 --> 00:28:22.259 in the U .S. at the time. Right. But still, that 00:28:22.259 --> 00:28:25.039 pivot from lifetime labor supporter to joining 00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:27.200 the Nationalist Party, that's a huge political 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:29.920 statement. It is. But the nuance, as you said, 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:32.819 it doesn't stop there. By 2022, he'd shifted 00:28:32.819 --> 00:28:35.539 his public position again, stated he didn't really 00:28:35.539 --> 00:28:37.519 consider himself a Scottish nationalist anymore. 00:28:37.940 --> 00:28:40.059 Oh, really? So what was his position then? He 00:28:40.059 --> 00:28:41.940 said he preferred to move towards federalism. 00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:44.839 He described his ideal as something like independent 00:28:44.839 --> 00:28:47.819 states, but we come together as a united federation. 00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:51.019 So it shows a commitment more to constitutional 00:28:51.019 --> 00:28:54.019 ideas, maybe, political reform, rather than just 00:28:54.019 --> 00:28:56.700 simple party membership or narrow national identity, 00:28:57.059 --> 00:28:59.519 like a preference for broad union combined with 00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:02.079 self -determination. That seems fair, yeah. And 00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:04.400 he's also been a dedicated activist on specific 00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:06.799 international issues, particularly the Israel 00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:09.400 -Palestine crisis. Right. He signed multiple 00:29:09.400 --> 00:29:11.839 letters calling for a ceasefire during the crisis, 00:29:11.980 --> 00:29:15.450 both in 2021 and 2023. Yeah, and notably, he 00:29:15.450 --> 00:29:18.190 recorded that poem, If I Must Die, by the Palestinian 00:29:18.190 --> 00:29:21.349 writer Rafat Al -Arir, who was tragically killed 00:29:21.349 --> 00:29:24.430 during the war later on. His activism seems ongoing 00:29:24.430 --> 00:29:28.329 too. More recently, in 2025, the source says 00:29:28.329 --> 00:29:31.109 he signed an open pledge not to work with Israeli 00:29:31.109 --> 00:29:33.950 film institutions that he views as being implicated 00:29:33.950 --> 00:29:37.609 in genocide and apartheid. So it shows he really 00:29:37.609 --> 00:29:39.710 uses his platform for outspoken activism and 00:29:39.710 --> 00:29:42.049 extending way beyond just UK domestic politics. 00:29:42.329 --> 00:29:45.029 And then there are his public views on other 00:29:45.029 --> 00:29:48.589 things, recreational drugs. Ah, yes. He openly 00:29:48.589 --> 00:29:51.630 supported the recreational use of cannabis, famously 00:29:51.630 --> 00:29:54.069 stated, quote, It's absolutely great. And I recommend 00:29:54.069 --> 00:29:57.250 it to everyone. Get stoned. Which is well, it's 00:29:57.250 --> 00:29:59.309 a typically provocative Brian Cox statement, 00:29:59.369 --> 00:30:01.549 isn't it? But it had real immediate professional 00:30:01.549 --> 00:30:04.210 consequences. It did. That statement made back 00:30:04.210 --> 00:30:06.849 in 2020 led directly to his removal from the 00:30:06.849 --> 00:30:09.829 patronage of the Midland Daycare Center in Dundee. 00:30:09.990 --> 00:30:12.440 It's a center for the elderly. Wow. So it demonstrates 00:30:12.440 --> 00:30:14.319 that conflict, doesn't it, between his sort of 00:30:14.319 --> 00:30:16.700 free thinking, rebellious nature and the expectations 00:30:16.700 --> 00:30:18.940 that come with celebrity patronage, especially 00:30:18.940 --> 00:30:21.559 perhaps in his more conservative hometown. Exactly. 00:30:22.440 --> 00:30:24.359 OK, finally, we should definitely touch on his 00:30:24.359 --> 00:30:27.619 deep academic and charitable commitments, because 00:30:27.619 --> 00:30:29.759 they prove his investment in the future of the 00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:33.740 arts is really tangible. Right. He held the elected 00:30:33.740 --> 00:30:35.980 position of rector of the University of Dundee 00:30:35.980 --> 00:30:40.059 for six years. 2010 to 2016, re -elected in 2013. 00:30:40.339 --> 00:30:42.200 And the role of rector in Scotland, it's more 00:30:42.200 --> 00:30:45.900 than just like a ceremonial thing. It involves 00:30:45.900 --> 00:30:48.740 actively representing the student body's interests 00:30:48.740 --> 00:30:51.619 to the university's governing body. It's a serious 00:30:51.619 --> 00:30:53.660 commitment to higher education governance. And 00:30:53.660 --> 00:30:55.559 he's also a patron of the Scottish Youth Theatre. 00:30:55.759 --> 00:30:57.380 Yeah, where the theatre in Glasgow was actually 00:30:57.380 --> 00:30:59.839 named the Brian Cox Studio Theatre in his honor. 00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:02.500 Nice. And a patron of the British American Drama 00:31:02.500 --> 00:31:06.069 Academy as well, BADA. Since 2020. Yeah. And 00:31:06.069 --> 00:31:07.750 he holds regular master classes there too. So 00:31:07.750 --> 00:31:09.630 he doesn't just, you know, lend his name or donate 00:31:09.630 --> 00:31:12.549 money. He actively teaches. He guides the next 00:31:12.549 --> 00:31:14.809 generation, making sure that classical tradition 00:31:14.809 --> 00:31:17.630 he mastered himself actually continues. Hashtag 00:31:17.630 --> 00:31:21.829 tag tag outro. OK, so let's try and synthesize 00:31:21.829 --> 00:31:24.789 this whole remarkable decades long journey. We 00:31:24.789 --> 00:31:26.569 kind of kicked off with that Logan Roy image, 00:31:26.569 --> 00:31:29.589 didn't we? But the reality is just so much richer. 00:31:29.730 --> 00:31:32.009 So much richer. We've gone from a working class 00:31:32.009 --> 00:31:34.970 kid in Dundee to a self -proclaimed democratic 00:31:34.970 --> 00:31:38.490 socialist and political independent, a two time 00:31:38.490 --> 00:31:41.289 Olivier Award winner. the original Hannibal Lecter 00:31:41.289 --> 00:31:44.269 on film. Right. A hugely versatile character 00:31:44.269 --> 00:31:47.569 actor who grounds these massive Hollywood franchises 00:31:47.569 --> 00:31:51.390 and also this deep contributor to academia, to 00:31:51.390 --> 00:31:54.250 the world of audio arts. It feels like every 00:31:54.250 --> 00:31:56.369 single screen performance doesn't matter if it's 00:31:56.369 --> 00:32:00.309 a CIA official or a satirical billionaire. It's 00:32:00.309 --> 00:32:02.769 absolutely informed by that relentless dedication 00:32:02.769 --> 00:32:05.170 to the classical stage, a textual rigor. And 00:32:05.170 --> 00:32:06.990 we connect it to the bigger picture, those three 00:32:06.990 --> 00:32:09.250 books he's written, Salem and Moscow, The Lear 00:32:09.230 --> 00:32:11.529 diaries, his autobiography, putting the rabbit 00:32:11.529 --> 00:32:13.569 in the hat. They really demonstrate that his 00:32:13.569 --> 00:32:16.069 professional commitment isn't just to the performance 00:32:16.069 --> 00:32:18.990 itself. It's also to documenting, reflecting 00:32:18.990 --> 00:32:21.730 on the process of acting, the emotional pressure, 00:32:21.809 --> 00:32:24.230 the intellectual journey involved. He treats 00:32:24.230 --> 00:32:27.609 his entire career like this ongoing documented 00:32:27.609 --> 00:32:30.450 artistic exploration. It's a truly staggering 00:32:30.450 --> 00:32:33.049 legacy, isn't it, of intellectual and artistic 00:32:33.049 --> 00:32:35.269 commitment, which kind of brings us back full 00:32:35.269 --> 00:32:37.390 circle, back to the role that really defined 00:32:37.390 --> 00:32:40.839 his late career. Logan Roy. Yeah. So considering 00:32:40.839 --> 00:32:43.900 his early portrayal of that calculating Hannibal 00:32:43.900 --> 00:32:46.799 Lecter and his decades mastering the complex 00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:49.259 psychology of classical stage roles like King 00:32:49.259 --> 00:32:52.500 Lear, what deep classical foundation do you think 00:32:52.500 --> 00:32:55.539 he drew upon to bring that ruthless yet somehow 00:32:55.539 --> 00:32:59.059 vulnerable complexity of Logan Roy to life? Well, 00:32:59.099 --> 00:33:00.920 it raises an important question, I think, for 00:33:00.920 --> 00:33:03.059 you, the listener, to consider. Is Logan Roy 00:33:03.059 --> 00:33:05.720 perhaps the ultimate modern Shakespearean king? 00:33:05.849 --> 00:33:08.690 Hmm. Say more. Well, think about it. A man of 00:33:08.690 --> 00:33:11.630 absolute tyrannical power. constantly surrounded 00:33:11.630 --> 00:33:14.829 by schemers, by flawed successors, fighting bitterly 00:33:14.829 --> 00:33:17.490 for his own legacy, ultimately tormented by the 00:33:17.490 --> 00:33:19.609 weight of his own succession, his own mortality 00:33:19.609 --> 00:33:22.589 maybe. His entire career, rooted so deeply in 00:33:22.589 --> 00:33:25.009 classical tragedy, suggests that Cox treated 00:33:25.009 --> 00:33:27.369 that way to our Royco boardroom not just as a 00:33:27.369 --> 00:33:29.869 commercial set, but as the crumbling kingdom 00:33:29.869 --> 00:33:33.569 of a tragic, powerful, deeply flawed modern monarch. 00:33:34.029 --> 00:33:35.930 And that, I think, is the genius of Brian Cox.