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