Brian Cox
Brian Denis Cox (born June 1, 1946) is a Scottish actor. A classically trained Shakespearean actor, he is known for his work on stage and screen. His numerous accolades include two Laurence Olivier Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a British Academy Television Award. In 2003, he was appointed to the Order of the British Empire at the rank of Commander. Cox trained at the Dundee Repertory Theatre before becoming a founding member of the Royal Lyceum Theatre. He went on to train as a Shakespearean actor, starring in numerous productions with the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he gained recognition for his portrayal of King Lear. Cox received two Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Actor for his roles in Rat in the Skull (1984), for Royal Court, and Titus Andronicus (1988). He received two more Olivier Award nominations for Misalliance (1986) and Fashion (1988). Known as a character actor in film, he played Robert McKee in Spike Jonze's Adaptation (2002) and William Stryker in X2 (2003). For his starring role in L.I.E. (2001), he received an Independent Spirit Award nomination. His other notable films include Manhunter (1986), Iron Will (1994), Braveheart (1995), The Boxer (1997), The Rookie (2002), Troy (2004), Match Point (2005), The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007), Coriolanus (2011), Pixels (2015), and Churchill (2017). Cox won the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for his portrayal of Hermann Göring in the television film Nuremberg (2001). The following year, he guest starred on the NBC sitcom Frasier, earning his second Emmy nomination in 2002. He portrayed Jack Langrishe in the HBO series Deadwood. He starred as Logan Roy on the HBO series Succession (2018-2023), for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series and was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Drama Series.
Known For
Credits
- 2025 · The Parenting as Frank
- 2025 · The Electric State as Popfly (voice)
- 2024 · The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim as Helm Hammerhand (voice)
- 2024 · That Christmas as Santa (voice)
- 2024 · Skelly as Grandpa
- 2024 · Little Wing as Jaan Vari
- 2023 · 007: Road to a Million as The Controller
- 2023 · Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius as Self
- 2023 · Quasi as Narrator (voice)
- 2022 · Bonnie as Self
- 2022 · The Independent as Nick Booker
- 2022 · Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg as Self – Actor
- 2021 · Blade Runner: Black Lotus as Niander Wallace Sr. (voice)
- 2019 · Pretenders as Henry
- 2019 · Remember Me as Shane
- 2019 · Good Omens as Death (voice)
- 2018 · Succession as Logan Roy
- 2017 · The Russell Howard Hour as Self
- 2017 · Carpool Karaoke: The Series as Self
- 2016 · The Autopsy of Jane Doe as Tommy Tilden
- 2016 · Medici: Masters of Florence as Bernardo Guadagni
- 2016 · The Carer as Sir Michael
- 2016 · War and Peace as Mikhail Kutuzov
- 2015 · Forsaken as James McCurdy
- 2015 · The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as
- 2015 · The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self
- 2015 · Pixels as Admiral Porter
- 2015 · The Slap as Manolis
- 2014 · Variety Studio: Actors on Actors as Self
- 2014 · The Game as Daddy
- 2014 · The Anomaly as Dr. Langham
- 2014 · Penny Dreadful as Jared Talbot
- 2014 · Last Week Tonight with John Oliver as God
- 2014 · Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
- 2014 · The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self
- 2013 · Her as Alan Watts (voice)
- 2013 · Anna as Sebastian
- 2013 · Believe as Matt Busby
- 2013 · RED 2 as Ivan
- 2013 · Shetland as Magnus Bain
- 2013 · The Last Leg as Self
- 2012 · Blood as Lenny Fairburn
- 2012 · A Touch of Cloth as Bill Ball
- 2012 · The Campaign as Raymond
- 2012 · The Straits as Harry Montebello
- 2011 · Celebrity Antiques Road Trip as Self - Participant
- 2011 · Exit Humanity as Malcolm Young (voice)
- 2011 · The Jonathan Ross Show as Self
- 2011 · The Jonathan Ross Show as Self - Guest
- 2011 · Rise of the Planet of the Apes as John Landon
- 2011 · The Veteran as Gerry
- 2011 · Ironclad as Albany
- 2011 · The Sinking of the Laconia as Captain Sharp
- 2010 · RED as Ivan Simanov
- 2009 · The Day of the Triffids as Dennis Masen
- 2009 · Fantastic Mr. Fox as Action 12 Reporter (voice)
- 2009 · The Take as Ozzy
- 2009 · Tell-Tale as Van Doren
- 2009 · Kings as King Vesper Abaddon
- 2008 · Red as Avery Ludlow
- 2008 · The Escapist as Frank Perry
- 2008 · The Colour of Magic as Narrator
- 2008 · Agent Crush as Spanners (voice)
- 2007 · The Water Horse as Old Angus
- 2007 · Trick 'r Treat as Mr. Kreeg
- 2007 · The Bourne Ultimatum as Ward Abbott (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 2007 · Zodiac as Melvin Belli
- 2007 · The Graham Norton Show as Self
- 2006 · The One Show as Self - Guest
- 2005 · The Ringer as Gary Barker
- 2005 · Match Point as Alec Hewett
- 2005 · The Colbert Report as
- 2005 · Red Eye as Joe Reisert
- 2005 · Blue/Orange as Dr. Robert Smith
- 2004 · The Tony Danza Show as Self
- 2004 · The Bourne Supremacy as Ward Abbott
- 2004 · Troy as King Agamemnon
- 2004 · Deadwood as Jack Langrishe
- 2003 · Real Time with Bill Maher as Self
- 2003 · Jimmy Kimmel Live! as Self - Guest
- 2003 · Sin as Captain Oakes
- 2002 · 25th Hour as James Brogan
- 2002 · Adaptation. as Robert McKee
- 2002 · Top Gear as Self
- 2002 · The Ring as Richard Morgan
- 2002 · The Biographer as Michael O'Mara
- 2002 · The Bourne Identity as Ward Abbott
- 2002 · The Rookie as Jim Morris Sr.
- 2002 · Bug as Cyr
- 2001 · Richard & Judy as Self
- 2001 · Super Troopers as John O'Hagen
- 2000 · Aqua Teen Hunger Force as Anubis (voice)
- 2000 · Saltwater as George Beneventi
- 2000 · Nuremberg as Herman Wilhelm Goering
- 2000 · Complicity as Inspector McDunn
- 2000 · Longitude as Lord Morton
- 2000 · Longitude as Lord Morton
- 1999 · For Love of the Game as Gary Wheeler
- 1999 · The Corruptor as Sean Wallace
- 1998 · Rushmore as Dr. Nelson Guggenheim
- 1998 · Poodle Springs as Clayton Blackstone
- 1997 · Kiss the Girls as Chief Hatfield, Durham PD
- 1996 · The Long Kiss Goodnight as Dr. Nathan Waldman
- 1996 · Chain Reaction as Lyman Earl Collier
- 1995 · Braveheart as Argyle Wallace
- Future · Have I Got a Bit More News for You as Himself - Panellist
- 2025 · Glenrothan as Sandy
- 2025 · VE Day 80 as Self
- 2024 · Unsinkable as Robert Dodds
- 2023 · Mending the Line as Ike Fletcher
- 2022 · Piers Morgan Uncensored as Self
- 2021 · Separation as Rivers
- 2020 · The Bay of Silence as Milton
- 2020 · Last Moment of Clarity as Gilles
- 2019 · Strange But True as Bill
- 2018 · Super Troopers 2 as John O'Hagen
- 2017 · Churchill as Winston Churchill
- 2016 · Morgan as Jim Bryce
- 2014 · The Great War: The People's Story as Rev. Andrew Clark
- 2013 · Blumenthal as Harold Blumenthal
- 2013 · Bob Servant as Bob Servant
- 2012 · Tooned as The Mechanic
- 2011 · Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster as Glover
- 2011 · Coriolanus as Menenius
- 2009 · Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword as Green Dragon (voice)
- 2007 · Battle for Terra as General Hemmer (voice)
- 2006 · The Outsiders as Gabriel
- 2006 · The Flying Scotsman as Douglas Baxter
- 2003 · One Life as
- 2001 · L.I.E. as Big John Harrigan
- 2001 · Strictly Sinatra as Chisolm
- 2001 · Inside 'Manhunter' as Himself
- 1997 · The Boxer as Joe Hamill
- 1996 · The Glimmer Man as Mr. Smith
- 1994 · Prince of Jutland as Aethelwine
- 1994 · Iron Will as Angus McTeague
- 1992 · Macbeth as Macbeth
- 1992 · Deceptions as Carlton Heard
- 1990 · Perfect Scoundrels as Father Amedy
- 1978 · Out as McGrath
- 1971 · Nicholas and Alexandra as Trotsky
- Future · Old Pals as Jimmy
- 2026 · Super Troopers 3: Winter Soldiers as Capt. John O’Hagan
- 2023 · Made of Money with Brian Cox as
- 2023 · Prisoner's Daughter as Max
- 2022 · Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba as Self
- 2022 · Brian Cox: How The Other Half Live as Presenter
- 2018 · Widdershins as voice
- 2018 · The Etruscan Smile as Rory MacNeil
- 2017 · Bob the Builder: Mega Machines - The Movie as Conrad / Crunch (voice)
- 2015 · Killing Thyme as Norman
- 2014 · The Gospel of John as Narrator (voice) – King James Version
- 2013 · An Adventure in Space and Time as Sydney Newman
- 2011 · The Key Man as Irving
- 2010 · As Good As Dead as Reverend Kalahan
- 2009 · The Good Heart as Jacques
- 2007 · The Secret of the Nutcracker as Drosselmeyer
- 2006 · Running with Scissors as Dr. Finch
- 2004 · The Reckoning as Tobias
- 2003 · The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making 'X2' as
- 2003 · X2 as William Stryker
- 2001 · The Affair of the Necklace as Minister Breteuil
- 2000 · Mad About Mambo as Sidney McLoughlin
- 1999 · The Minus Man as Doug
- 1998 · Merchants of Venus as Uncle Vladimir
- 1997 · Sharpe: The Legend as Hogan
- 1993 · Sharpe's Eagle as Major Michael Hogan
- 1993 · Sharpe's Rifles as Major Michael Hogan
- 1992 · The Big Battalions as Edward Hoyland
- 1988 · Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun as Jack Purves
- 1987 · Acting as
- 1982 · The Privilege as Young Laird
- 1980 · Therese Raquin as Laurent
- Future · Wittgenstein's Poker as Bertrand Russell (voice)
- 2025 · Raoul Wallenberg: Missing Inaction as Self — Gustaf Wallenberg (voice)
- 2022 · Ooh the Banter! as Self
- 2021 · Oleg: The Oleg Vidov Story as Narrator (voice)
- 2019 · The Last Right as Father Reilly
- 2018 · Kubrick by Candlelight as The Narrator
- 2017 · Brian Cox's Russia as Host
- 2017 · Vegalta: Soccer, Tsunami and the Hope of a Nation as Narrator
- 2016 · Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light as Self
- 2015 · Pacific Warriors as Narrator
- 2015 · Andrew Carnegie: Rags to Riches, Power to Peace as Andrew Carnegie (voice)
- 2014 · Scotland In A Day as
- 2013 · The Curse of Edgar as Edgar Hoover
- 2012 · Addicted to Pleasure as Self - Host
- 2012 · All at Sea as Wally
- 2007 · Shoot on Sight as Daniel Tennant
- 2007 · A Woman in Winter as Dr. Hunt
- 2005 · The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle as Joseph Bell
- 2005 · Hitler in Colour as Narrator
- 2004 · Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson as Other Voices (voice)
- 2003 · The Evolution of an American Filmmaker as Self
- 2002 · The Trials of Henry Kissinger as
- 2000 · A Shot at Glory as Martin Smith
- 1992 · The Lost Language of Cranes as Owen Benjamin
- 1990 · The Making of 'Hidden Agenda' as self
- 1989 · Murder on the Moon as Voronov
- 1988 · Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky as Voiceover Narrator
- 1987 · Shoot for the Sun as Dunny
- 1987 · Rat in the Skull as Detective Inspector Nelson
- 1984 · Pope John Paul II as Father Góra
- 1982 · A Cotswold Death as Dr. Gillespie
- 1976 · Clay, Smeddum and Greenden as George Simpson
- 1974 · The Changeling as Alsemero
- 1968 · The Year of the Sex Olympics as Lasar Opie
- Future · A Modern Magician as The Voice
- Future · The Planets as
- 2025 · The Marbles as Self - Interviewee
- 2025 · AMR: Dying to Change the World as AMR
- 2023 · Bill Douglas: My Best Friend as Narrator (voice)
- 2023 · An Interview with Brian Cox as Himself
- 2022 · Ukraine: Answering the Call as Self
- 2020 · John Rebus: The Lockdown Blues as John Rebus
- 2020 · Lawrence After Arabia as Father (Voice)
- 2017 · An Evening with Brian Cox as Himself
- 2016 · Darcey Bussell: My Life on the BBC as Self
- 2012 · I Missed My Mother's Funeral as Old Man
- 2010 · On Expenses as
- 2009 · Brian Cox's Jute Journey as Self
- 2006 · Carry On Ken as Self
- 2005 · Danny Phantom: Reign Storm as Pariah Dark (Voice)
- 2005 · Japan's War in Colour as Self - Narrator (voice)
- 2004 · Murder by Numbers as Self
- 2002 · Aleister Crowley - The Wickedest Man in the World as Narrator
- 2002 · Loch Lomond: Legend of the Loch as Narrator
- 2002 · Rasputin: The Devil in the Flesh as Narrator
- 2002 · Smallpox 2002: Silent Weapon as Narrator
- 2000 · The Invention of Dr. Morel as Dr. Morel
- 2000 · The Making of 'Rushmore' as Self
- 1999 · The History of the British Police Force as Narrator (voice)
- 1998 · Desperate Measures as Captain Jeremiah Cassidy
- 1997 · Food for Ravens as Aneurin Bevan
- 1997 · I, Caesar – The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire as Narrator
- 1996 · Superman: The Animated Series as Dr. Earl Garver (voice)
- 1996 · The Daily Show as Self
- 1996 · Witness Against Hitler as Judge Freisler
- 1995 · Rob Roy as Killearn
- 1994 · The Maltese Double Cross as Narrator (voice)
- 1994 · The Negotiator as Charlie King
- 1994 · Grushko as Colonel Yevgeni Grushko
- 1993 · Frasier as Harry Moon
- 1993 · Sharpe as Major Hogan
- 1992 · Six Characters in Search of An Author as The Director
- 1992 · Shakespeare: The Animated Tales as Macbeth (voice)
- 1992 · The Cutter as
- 1992 · The Cloning of Joanna May as Carl May
- 1991 · Red Fox as Geoffrey Harrison
- 1991 · Performance as The Director
- 1990 · Hidden Agenda as Peter Kerrigan
- 1990 · Have I Got News for You as Self
- 1990 · Secret Weapon as Andrew Neil
- 1989 · The Simpsons as Kostas Becker (voice)
- 1989 · Brian Cox on Acting in Tragedy as Self
- 1989 · The Blasphemers' Banquet as Rev. Wallace (voice)
- 1988 · LIVE with Kelly and Mark as Self - Guest
- 1988 · Red Dwarf as The King
- 1988 · The Modern World: Ten Great Writers as Henrik Ibsen (voice)
- 1987 · French & Saunders as King Lear
- 1987 · Inspector Morse as Michael Steppings
- 1986 · Manhunter as Dr. Hannibal Lecktor
- Future · The Glove as
- 1987 · Gramsci: Everything that Concerns People as Narrator
- 1986 · Home Cooking as Vic
- 1986 · Unnatural Causes as Vic
- 1985 · Florence Nightingale as Dr. McGregor
- 1985 · The Cantor of St Thomas's as Johann Sebastian Bach
- 1983 · King Lear as Burgundy
- 1981 · House on the Hill as Leon Douglas
- 1980 · Hammer House of Horror as Chuck
- 1980 · Dalhousie's Luck as Dalhousie
- 1979 · Minder as Frank
- 1979 · Question Time as Self - Panellist
- 1978 · The Devil's Crown as Henry II
- 1977 · Target as Billy Voss
- 1975 · In Celebration as Steven Shaw
- 1974 · Churchill's People as William Wallace
- 1974 · Playhouse as Dalhousie
- 1972 · Van der Valk as Stefan Szabo
- 1971 · Great Performances as Self - Narration (voice)
- 1970 · Play for Today as Dr. Gillespie
- 1970 · Manhunt as Anton
- 1967 · The Gamblers as Mickey
- 1965 · BBC Play of the Month as Alsemero
- 1965 · A Knight in Tarnished Armour as Nelson
- 1964 · Theatre 625 as Lasar Opie