Brian Cox has never shied from criticizing industry colleagues and former co-stars, from Johnny Depp to Edward Norton — and he proved it once again in a new profile where Margot Robbie and filmmaker Quentin Tarantino got in his crosshairs.
Still, he defended running his mouth as a benefit of old age.
“I mean, my wife [Nicole Ansari-Cox] keeps saying, ‘Brian, be careful. Brian, be careful.’ I think, ‘F–k it, I don’t want to be careful anymore! I’ll be 80 this year. F—k it! I’m gonna say what I want to say,’” the longtime actor said in an interview with The Times, reflecting on his famously unscripted commentary on actors like “Succession” co-star Jeremy Strong. He admitted that he’s not sure if his remarks will impact his relationships in Hollywood.
“I don’t know yet if it’s caused me problems,” he said.
In previous interviews discussing his roles over the years, Cox has said that he rejected the part as the governor (Weatherby Swann) in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films because he didn’t want to work with the “overrated” Depp, who stars as Captain Jack Sparrow in the franchise. The role ultimately was given to Jonathan Pryce.
He’s also called his “25th Hour” co-star Norton a “pain in the arse,” his “Iron Will” co-star Kevin Spacey “a stupid man” and has said “Lord of the Rings” star Ian McKellan’s acting isn’t to his “taste.”
Now that’s not all. Speaking with the Times, Cox reportedly mocked Robbie’s Australian accent, exclaiming, “Keith Cliff! It’s me, Cathy!” while reflecting on her casting in “Wuthering Heights.” He added that the actress is “far too beautiful” to play Catherine Earnshaw in Emerald Fennell’s new take on the romance, which he hasn’t seen.
“I think there should be something more of the Gypsy about her but it’s wrong of me to judge. It may be a brilliant film,” Cox said.
While taking jabs at his fellow actors, he also gave an update on whether or not he’s reached out to Daniel Day-Lewis to discuss Method acting after he said co-star Strong’s use of the technique was “f—king annoying.”
“No, I haven’t reached out because it’s got nothing to do with Dan Day-Lewis,” Cox said. “Dan Day-Lewis, he’s discreet. He never upsets it [the filming process]. He’s never, sort of … I don’t want to go on about Jeremy, because I’ve got into a lot of problems and he’s begged me to stop talking about him. He’s a good actor, Jeremy. He’s a wonderful actor. It’s just all the bollocks that goes with it. You watch children — they don’t say, ‘What’s my motivation?’ They just do it!”
He also let directors have a piece of his mind while chatting about his directorial debut with “Glenrothan.”
“I’m more egalitarian than a lot of directors, the kind who call themselves visionaries,” he said. “I like to honor the actor’s performance. With a Quentin Tarantino film, what you see is all Quentin Tarantino. That’s not me. I don’t want to do that.”
