Theatre 1961–1979: Early work Brian Cox began his acting career at age 14 at
Dundee Repertory Theatre in 1961 and then as one of the founding members of the
Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, performing in its first show, ''The Servant O' Twa Maisters'', in October 1965. It was during this time that Cox narrowly avoided boarding the ill-fated
British European Airways flight from Edinburgh to London that crashed on landing at
Heathrow Airport on 27 October 1965. Cox had been invited to meet with
Sir Lawrence Olivier but the meeting was cancelled, and while Cox considered taking the flight anyway, he decided to return home only learning of the tragedy the next day.
1980s: Royal National Theatre Cox is an accomplished
Shakespearean actor, spending seasons with both the
Royal Shakespeare Company and the
Royal National Theatre in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1983, he portrayed the Duke of Burgundy in
King Lear opposite
Laurence Olivier in the title role. In 1984, he played the
Royal Ulster Constabulary officer Inspector Nelson in the
Royal Court's production of
Rat in the Skull. He was subsequently awarded that year's
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a New Play. He made his
Broadway debut in February 1985 as Edmund Darrell in
Eugene O'Neill's
Strange Interlude at the
Nederlander Theatre for which he received his first British Theatre Association Drama Award for Best Actor. In May that year, he made his
off-Broadway debut, reprising his role as Inspector Nelson, in
Rat in the Skull at the
Public Theater. He received two additional
Laurence Olivier nominations for
Misalliance (1984) and for
Fashion (1988). His performance as Petruchio in
The Taming of The Shrew (1987) also garnered positive reviews and won him another British Theatre Association Drama Award for Best Actor. His account of the emotional and physical difficulties that came with playing King Lear's all-consuming role was detailed in
The Lear Diaries (1995) which he authored. King Lear is one of
Shakespeare's most difficult roles, and Cox's portrayal broke new ground in the understanding of this most enigmatic figure. In 1995, he directed
Open Air Theatre's chilling adaptation of
Richard III which was well received by critics. During the same season, he also appeared in one of the theatre's productions,
The Music Man, as Professor Harold Hill. In 1997, he starred in
Conor McPherson's
St. Nicholas at the Bush Theatre in London, and in 1998 returned to the
off-Broadway stage reprising his role for
Primary Stages, where he won a
Lucille Lortel Award and earned a
Drama Desk and an
Outer Critics Circle nomination for his New York performance. His portrayal of Jack in
The Weir at
the Donmar Theatre in April 2013 is reprised at
Wyndham's Theatre in January 2014. In Fall 2015, Cox starred in a new production of
Waiting for Godot, for Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh's 50th anniversary. Cox returned to the Broadway stage in 2019 to star as
Lyndon B. Johnson in
Robert Schenkkan's
The Great Society at the
Vivian Beaumont Theater. Cox has also previously directed ''I Love My Life, Mrs. Warren's Profession, The Philanderer, The Master Builder, The Crucible,
and Julius Caesar
on stage. In the same year, he appeared in the ITV serial Hammer House of Horror'' as an ex-convict alongside veteran actor
Peter Cushing. In 1981, he starred opposite
Kate Nelligan and
Alan Rickman in the BBC adaptation of Zola's novel
Thérèse Raquin as Laurent LeClaire. In 1986, he portrayed
Hannibal Lecter in
Manhunter, the character's first appearance on film.
1990–1999: Career breakthrough In 1990, Cox portrayed
Andrew Neil in
Secret Weapon, based on
Mordechai Vanunu's life story. In the same year, he guest-starred as Father Amedy in the comedy series
Perfect Scoundrels and starred as police investigator Kerrigan in the political thriller
Hidden Agenda. In 1991, he played the role of Owen Benjamin, the closeted father of a gay man, in the BBC production of
David Leavitt's novel,
The Lost Language of Cranes, which is set in the 1980s. For his performance he was nominated as Best Actor at the 1993
BAFTA TV Awards. He also played Geoffrey Harrison in the ITV thriller
Red Fox based on
Gerald Seymour's international best-seller. In 1992, he appeared in another ITV adaptation as Carl May in
The Cloning of Joanna May based on
Fay Weldon's sci-fi novel. He also appeared as Stefan Szabo in the first episode of the fifth season of
Van der Valk. He played the title role in the short film
The Cutter and "The Director" in BBC's anthology series of classic and contemporary plays
Performance. He also starred as Carlton Heard in
Deceptions and as Edward Hoyland in
The Big Battalions, a series about three religious families of differing faith. In 1993, he appeared as spymaster Major Hogan in two episodes of
Sharpe, and as Brother Shaw in ''
Sean's Show''. He played P.O. Garvey in BBC's anthology series
Scene featuring plays and documentaries originally broadcast for educational purposes. In the same year, he was seen in an episode of
Inspector Morse, where he portrayed Michael Steppings, a retired bookmaker whose daughter is in a permanent coma. In 1994, he appeared alongside
Kevin Spacey as Angus Mcleague in
Iron Will. He portrayed Aethelwine alongside
Christian Bale and
Helen Mirren in
Royal Deceit, an adaptation of the Danish legend of
Prince Amleth. He also played the role of Colonel Grushko, 'a policeman who sees greed and rapacity in Russia's new mood', in
Grushko, a British-made crime drama set in
Russia. He then starred in
The Negotiator as Charlie King, a "street copper" who had a heart attack. He shot to superstardom in the mid-1990s thanks to roles in the likes of
Rob Roy as Killearn and
Braveheart as Argyle Wallace in 1995. His performance in the former earned him a
BAFTA Scotland Award nomination for Best Actor. In 1996, he starred with
Helen McRory as Judge Freisler in
Witness Against Hitler which tells the true story of a Prussian intelligence officer and aristocrat who, with his fellow devout Christians, plotted to assassinate Hitler. In the same year he played Lyman Earl Collier, a murderous CEO in
Chain Reaction. He also appeared with
Steven Seagal in
The Glimmer Man as the CIA superior Mr Smith, and with
Samuel L. Jackson in
The Long Kiss Goodnight as Nathan Waldman. Cox made a guest appearance in the 1997
Red Dwarf episode "
Stoke Me a Clipper", as a medieval king in a virtual reality game. In the same year, he appeared alongside
Morgan Freeman in the neo-noir psychological thriller
Kiss the Girls based on
James Patterson's best-selling novel. He also played Nye Bevan in the drama
Food for Ravens and ranking IRA member Joe Hamill in the Irish sports drama
The Boxer alongside
Daniel Day-Lewis. In 1998, he appeared as police captain Jeremiah Cassidy in
Desperate Measures, Uncle Vladimir in the romantic comedy
Merchants of Venus, Clayton Blackstone in HBO's neo-noir film
Poodle Springs, and in the drama
Family Brood. That same year he appeared alongside
Bill Murray in
Wes Anderson's
Rushmore as the school headmaster Dr. Nelson Guggenheim. The film is preserved by the
Library of Congress in 2016 due to its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance. In 1999, he appeared opposite
Owen Wilson as postal worker Doug Durwin in the thriller
The Minus Man. He also played Sean Wallace in
The Corruptor alongside
Chow Yun-Fat and
Mark Wahlberg, and appeared as Gary Wheeler in the sports drama
For Love of the Game. His New York theatre credits include
St. Nicholas (1999), which earned him a
Drama Desk Award nomination. He appeared in the Irish drama
Saltwater as George Beneventi, a chip-shop-owning father troubled by loan sharks. In 2001, he played the fatherly police Captain O'Hagan in
Super Troopers. In the same year, he received critical acclaim for his performance as the paedophile Big John Harrigan in
Michael Cuesta's
L.I.E., winning a
Satellite Award for Best Actor in Motion Picture Drama, and receiving nominations for the
Independent Spirit Award for
Best Lead Actor and the
AFI Award for Featured Male Actor of the Year. In
Strictly Sinatra, he played mob enforcer Chisolm who helps an aspiring musician passionate on
Frank Sinatra. He also portrayed
Baron de Breteuil in
The Affair of the Necklace based on the diamond necklace incident that fuelled dissent against the French monarchy and led to the
French Revolution. In 2002, Cox appeared in
A Shot at Glory as Rangers manager Martin Smith. He starred as Cyr in
Bug in which a diverse group is propelled to a common fate by a series of cause-and-effect chain reactions. He played Jim Morris, Sr. in the sports drama
The Rookie, based on the true story of
Jim Morris. In the same year, he guest-starred as Harry Moon in two episodes of the critically acclaimed series
Frasier, for which he would receive an Emmy nomination as
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. He then starred as corrupt
CIA official Ward Abbott in the blockbuster film
The Bourne Identity, opposite
Matt Damon. He appeared as Michael O'Mara in
The Biographer, and also starred as Richard Morgan in the supernatural horror thriller
The Ring, a remake of the 1998 Japanese film. It was one of the highest grossing horror remakes, paving the way for other English-version horror remakes. He played
Edward Norton's father James Brogan in
25th Hour, and also appeared in
Spike Jonze's
Adaptation as the real-life screenwriting teacher,
Robert McKee, giving advice to
Nicolas Cage in both his roles as Charlie Kaufman and Charlie's fictional twin brother, Donald. He shared a
Screen Actors Guild Award nomination as part of the ensemble cast of the latter. In 2003, he played the villain
William Stryker in
X2: X-Men United and Captain Oakes in the direct-to-video crime thriller
Sin. In 2004, he played Tobias in
The Reckoning, a murder mystery drama set in the medieval period. Also in 2004, Cox played an alternate, villainous version of King
Agamemnon opposite
Brad Pitt in
Troy. He also reprised his role as Ward Abbott in
The Bourne Supremacy, the second instalment of the
Bourne franchise. In the short film
Get the Picture, he played Harry Sondheim, a journalist who doubts the guilt of four suspected terrorists. He portrayed King Lear in episode 4 of season 6 of
French and Saunders, BBC's sketch comedy series as satire to popular culture. He was honoured at the 2004 BAFTA Scotland Awards with an Outstanding Achievement Award, and at the 2004 Great Scot Awards with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2005, Cox starred as Robert Smith in
Blue/Orange, a BBC film adaptation of
Joe Penhall's play exploring race, mental illness, and modern British life. He played Alec Hewett, patriarch of the wealthy family in
Woody Allen's psychological thriller
Match Point. He also played
Rachel McAdams' father Joe Reisert in
Red Eye. In the biographical drama
The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle, he portrayed
Doyle's mentor
Dr. Joseph Bell. The television film explored how Doyle created
Holmes and how he applied Bell's techniques in his novels. In the sports comedy
The Ringer, he played Gary Barker who suggests to his nephew to enter and fix a Special Olympics to solve their financial woes.
2006–2010 In 2006, Cox played Dr Hunt in
A Woman in Winter which explores the nature of obsessive love. In
The Flying Scotsman, based on the life of Scottish amateur cyclist
Graeme Obree, he portrayed Douglas Baxter, a boatyard owner and minister who befriends the atheist cyclist. He appeared as Jack Langrishe in the
HBO series
Deadwood. In
ITV's
The Outsiders, he played Gabriel, the head of the spy agency. In the comedy drama
Running with Scissors, based on
Augusten Burroughs' best-selling memoir about his childhood, he portrayed Dr Finch, the psychiatrist of Burroughs's mother and patriarch of an eccentric family with whom Burrough was sent to live. In 2007, Cox portrayed prominent US lawyer
Melvin Belli in
David Fincher's mystery thriller
Zodiac, based on
Robert Graysmith's book which follows the manhunt for the
Zodiac Killer. He also played old Angus in the fantasy drama
The Water Horse, Mr Kreeg in the anthology horror ''
Trick 'r Treat, Daniel Tennant in Shoot on Sight based on Operation Kratos, and Drosselmeyer in The Secret of the Nutcracker''. In 2008 Cox starred as Avery Ludlow in
Red, and also played institutionalised convict Frank Perry, the protagonist in
Rupert Wyatt's film,
The Escapist (2008), appearing alongside
Joseph Fiennes,
Dominic Cooper, and
Damian Lewis. For the latter, he won that year's BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Acting Performance. In 2009, he appeared as Lewis Serrocold in the ITV series
Marple, loosely based on Agatha Christie's books and short stories. He starred as Philip Van Doren in the
Ridley Scott produced
Tell-Tale, a film based on the short story
The Tell Tale Heart by
Edgar Allan Poe. He starred as the legendary criminal godfather Ozzy in
The Take, and portrayed King Vesper Abaddon, the former king of Carmel in
Kings, loosely based on the biblical
King David and set in a modern absolute monarchy. He also starred as the short-tempered bartender Jacques in the Icelandic film
The Good Heart, and as Burt Macey in the crime drama
Lost & Found. He also appeared as Dennis in
The Day of the Triffids, based on
John Wyndham's best-selling
post-apocalyptic novel. In 2010, he played Reverend Kalahan, cult leader and pastor whose death is the backdrop of the story in the crime thriller
As Good as Dead. He portrayed former
Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin in the television film
On Expenses. He also starred as Wally, an old rogue who fulfills his old friend's dying wish for a sea burial in the black comedy
All at Sea. In the same year, Cox played
Laura Linney's father in the
Showtime series
The Big C, and appeared as Ivan Simonov in
RED. 2011–2017 In 2011, Cox starred as Captain Rudolph Sharp in
The Sinking of the Laconia,
BBC Two's television film about the sinking of the British ocean liner
RMS Laconia during
World War II. He co-starred with
Gerard Butler and
Ralph Fiennes as a quietly reasonable senator in
Coriolanus, a modern British film adaptation of the Shakespeare tragedy. He portrayed Baron
William d'Aubigny, a lordly wool merchant against
King John's tyranny in
Ironclad, a war film set after the ratification of
Magna Carta. In the American thriller
The Key Man, he shared the screen with
Hugo Weaving as Irving, a sociopathic con man and a Shakespearian actor. He then starred in
The Veteran as a British intelligence officer who recruits a war veteran to track a female contact infiltrating a group of suspected terrorists. He also starred as John Landon in the science-fiction film
Rise of the Planet of the Apes. He appeared as Glover Boyd, the retired policeman father of the protagonist in the Canadian biographical drama
Citizen Gangster. In 2012, Cox appeared in the Australian drama
The Straits as the
patriarch of the Montebello family crime syndicate, Harry Montebello. He appeared as Raymond Huggins, an associate of two corrupt businessmen brothers, in the political satire film
The Campaign, and as Bill Ball in
A Touch of Cloth, a parody of British police procedural dramas. He starred in
Blood as Lenny Fairburn, a retired cop and father of two fraternal detectives played by
Paul Bettany and
Stephen Graham. He also appeared as an old man in the short film ''I Missed My Mother's Funeral''. In January 2013, Cox played the title character in the British comedy series
Bob Servant. He said he played Servant, the creation of
Dundonian author
Neil Forsyth, based on memories of his late brother Charlie. He played Ivan Simanov in
RED 2, reprising his role from the 2010 original film. In
Blumenthal, he played the title role as the playwright Harold Blumenthal, who made a career out of parodying his family and died laughing at his own joke. He starred in
Believe as the Scottish football manager
Matt Busby, who returns from retirement to coach a group of young working-class boys. He also starred in the psychological thriller
Mindscape (original title
Anna) as Sebastian Cunningham, a superior in top memory detective agency Mindscape, which employs psychics to assist in solving criminal cases. He portrayed FBI director
J. Edgar Hoover in
The Curse of Edgar, an original docudrama based on the best-selling novel by
Marc Dugain about Hoover's battle to keep power away from the
Kennedys. In November 2013, he portrayed Canadian television executive
Sydney Newman, the driving force behind the creation of
Doctor Who, in the BBC television
docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time. He appeared in
Tooned, an animated cartoon about
Formula One racing, as an old mechanic, and as Magnus Bain in the crime drama series
Shetland (2013–2014) which was initially based on
Ann Cleeves' novels. In 2014, Cox appeared in
The Anomaly as Lloyd Langham,
Ian Somerhalder's father in the sci-fi thriller, who conducted nightmarish experiments on the protagonist. He also appeared in the documentary ''The Great War: The People's Story'' as Reverend Andrew Clark, and in BBC's
Cold War spy thriller series
The Game as an
MI5 superior codenamed "Daddy". He also reprised his role in the second series of
Bob Servant. In 2015, he starred in
The Slap, an American adaptation of the Australian series based on
Christos Tsiolka's novel, as Manolis Apostolou, the father of the main character played by
Peter Sarsgaard. He appeared in the sci-fi comedy
Pixels as a military heavyweight starring alongside
Adam Sandler, and in the Canadian revisionist western film
Forsaken as a local gang leader. He also starred in the short film
Killing Thyme as a grumpy old man with a squandered allotment and a death wish. In 2016, he starred in the British-Hungarian comedy
The Carer as
Sir Michael Gifford, an ageing Shakespearian actor, and in the BBC's historical drama series adaptation of
Leo Tolstoy's novel
War & Peace as
General Mikhail Kutuzov. He was nominated at the BAFTA Scotland Awards for Best Actor for his portrayal in the former. He also received a Career Achievement Award at the
Stony Brook Film Festival for the same role. He appeared in season 3 of the horror drama series
Penny Dreadful as Jared Talbot, a ruthless, powerful American rancher and the estranged father of
Josh Hartnett's character. He also appeared in the sci-fi thriller
Morgan as Jim Bryce, and starred alongside
Emile Hirsch in
The Autopsy of Jane Doe as Tommy. In the first series of the Italian-British historical drama series
Medici, he portrayed
Bernardo Guadagni, an officer of the Signoria. In 2017, he appeared as
Marlon Brando in
Urban Myths, a biographical comedy drama series in which each episode features a story about popular culture icons. In June, Cox starred in the critically acclaimed historical war drama
Churchill, playing the title role as
Winston Churchill.
2018–2023: Succession In April 2018, Cox reprised his role of Captain John O'Hagen in
Super Troopers 2. Early drafts of the script excluded Cox's character from the movie, with reservations on whether Cox would want to return or not for the sequel. It was later announced he would return, Cox himself joking that it was on the condition that he receive a "big action scene with rockets and explosions". In May, he starred in
The Etruscan Smile as Rory MacNeil, a dying man who reunites with his estranged son. He starred in the first season of
Succession,
HBO's satirical drama which premiered to positive reviews, as Logan Roy, the patriarch of the dysfunctional Roy family and the billionaire founder of the global media and entertainment conglomerate Waystar RoyCo. In November, he starred as Henry in
James Franco's drama
Pretenders. In June 2019, he played William "Bill" Erwin in
Strange But True, a thriller adaptation of
John Searles' novel. In August, he starred as Shane in the romantic comedy
Remember Me. In the same month, the second season of
Succession premiered in which Cox reprised his role, earning him the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and a nomination for the
Emmy Award for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series. The series garnered critical acclaim receiving numerous awards and nominations, winning the
British Academy Television Award for Best International Programme, the
Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama, and the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. In the same year, he played Father Reilly in the comedy drama
The Last Right. In 2020, Cox starred as Gilles in the American neo-noir thriller
Last Moment of Clarity. In
The Bay of Silence, he played Milton Hunter, a powerful art dealer and stepfather to a celebrated artist. In 2021, he played Paul Rivers in the horror film
Separation. In July 2021, it was announced that Cox would join the cast of the family drama ''
Prisoner's Daughter which tells the story of an ex-con trying to reconnect with his daughter and grandson.'' The film was released at the
2022 Toronto International Film Festival to mixed critical reviews, with Cox's performance praised as one of the highlights. He also did voice work for the animated short-film ''Wittgenstein's Poker'' as
Bertrand Russell.
Recent projects In November 2020, it was announced that Cox would be joining the cast of the "audio movie series"
Unsinkable, told in eleven 20-minute episodes based on the oil tanker
MV San Demetrio, set on fire by a German battleship in 1940; the crew was ordered to abandon ship, but reboarded the burning vessel two days later and with no charts or radio sailed her to Britain. He was executive producer of and starred in the 2022 American drama film
Mending the Line. He plays a Vietnam veteran who teaches a young injured soldier how to fly fish, hoping it would help him cope with his physical and emotional trauma. He stars in the 2022 political thriller
The Independent, which centres on a young journalist who teams up with her idol (Cox) to uncover a major conspiracy. Cox appears in the 2024 films
Skelly and provided the voice of
Helm Hammerhand in the animated film
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. In 2023 he played the lead role of
Johann Sebastian Bach in
Oliver Cotton's play
The Score at the Theatre Royal, Bath, directed by
Trevor Nunn. The production and cast transferred to the
Theatre Royal, Haymarket in 2025. In 2025, he return to the Scottish stage for the first time in a decade to perform in
James Graham's play
Make It Happen, in the role of
Adam Smith. While in
Edinburgh for this role, Cox also participated in a fundraiser for the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival in his capacity as a Fringe Ambassador. ==Audio and voice work==