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 · Dexter: Resurrection as New York Ripper
- 2025 · The Electric State as Popfly (voice)
- 2022 · Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg as Self – Actor
- 2021 · Blade Runner: Black Lotus as Niander Wallace Sr. (voice)
- 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 · War and Peace as Mikhail Kutuzov
- 2015 · The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self - Guest
- 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 · 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 · RED 2 as Ivan
- 2013 · Shetland as Magnus Bain
- 2013 · The Last Leg as Self
- 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
- 2010 · RED as Ivan Simanov
- 2009 · The Day of the Triffids as Dennis Masen
- 2009 · Fantastic Mr. Fox as Action 12 Reporter (voice)
- 2008 · The Colour of Magic as Narrator
- 2007 · Zodiac as Melvin Belli
- 2007 · The Graham Norton Show as Self
- 2007 · M.I. High as Voice of the Mastermind
- 2006 · The One Show as Self - Guest
- 2005 · The Colbert Report as
- 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
- 2002 · Top Gear as Self
- 2002 · The Bourne Identity as Ward Abbott
- 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
- 1967 · ITV Playhouse as Apeman
- 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 Marbles as Self - Interviewee
- 2024 · Little Wing as Jaan Vari
- 2023 · Made of Money with Brian Cox as
- 2023 · Prisoner's Daughter as Max
- 2023 · Mending the Line as Ike Fletcher
- 2023 · Quasi as Narrator (voice)
- 2022 · Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba as Self
- 2022 · Brian Cox: How The Other Half Live as Presenter
- 2022 · Bonnie as Self
- 2019 · The Last Right as Father Reilly
- 2019 · Pretenders as Henry
- 2019 · Remember Me as Shane
- 2018 · The Etruscan Smile as Rory MacNeil
- 2017 · Churchill as Winston Churchill
- 2017 · Brian Cox's Russia as Host
- 2016 · The Carer as Sir Michael
- 2016 · Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light as Self
- 2014 · The Anomaly as Dr. Langham
- 2013 · An Adventure in Space and Time as Sydney Newman
- 2013 · Bob Servant as Bob Servant
- 2012 · Addicted to Pleasure as Self - Host
- 2012 · Blood as Lenny Fairburn
- 2012 · All at Sea as Wally
- 2011 · Exit Humanity as Malcolm Young (voice)
- 2011 · Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster as Glover
- 2011 · The Key Man as Irving
- 2010 · As Good As Dead as Reverend Kalahan
- 2009 · Tell-Tale as Van Doren
- 2008 · Agent Crush as Spanners (voice)
- 2007 · A Woman in Winter as Dr. Hunt
- 2006 · Running with Scissors as Dr. Finch
- 2005 · The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle as Joseph Bell
- 2005 · Blue/Orange as Dr. Robert Smith
- 2004 · Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson as Other Voices (voice)
- 2004 · Murder by Numbers as Self
- 2004 · The Reckoning as Tobias
- 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
- 2002 · Smallpox 2002: Silent Weapon as Narrator
- 2001 · The Affair of the Necklace as Minister Breteuil
- 2001 · Strictly Sinatra as Chisolm
- 2000 · Saltwater as George Beneventi
- 2000 · Complicity as Inspector McDunn
- 2000 · A Shot at Glory as Martin Smith
- 2000 · The Making of 'Rushmore' as Self
- 2000 · Longitude as Lord Morton
- 1999 · The Minus Man as Doug
- 1998 · Poodle Springs as Clayton Blackstone
- 1998 · Merchants of Venus as Uncle Vladimir
- 1997 · Sharpe: The Legend as Hogan
- 1994 · The Negotiator as Charlie King
- 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 · Six Characters in Search of An Author as The Director
- 1992 · The Big Battalions as Edward Hoyland
- 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
- 1987 · Acting as
- 1985 · Florence Nightingale as Dr. McGregor
- 1984 · Pope John Paul II as Father Góra
- 1978 · The Devil's Crown as Henry II
- Future · Old Pals as Jimmy
- 2024 · Skelly as Grandpa
- 2022 · Ooh the Banter! as Self
- 2022 · Ukraine: Answering the Call as Self
- 2021 · Oleg: The Oleg Vidov Story as Narrator (voice)
- 2020 · Lawrence After Arabia as Father (Voice)
- 2018 · Widdershins as voice
- 2017 · Bob the Builder: Mega Machines - The Movie as Conrad / Crunch (voice)
- 2014 · The Gospel of John as Narrator (voice) – King James Version
- 2014 · Scotland In A Day as
- 2013 · The Curse of Edgar as Edgar Hoover
- 2013 · Blumenthal as Harold Blumenthal
- 2007 · The Secret of the Nutcracker as Drosselmeyer
- 2007 · Shoot on Sight as Daniel Tennant
- 2006 · The Outsiders as Gabriel
- 2006 · Carry On Ken as Self
- 2005 · Hitler in Colour as Narrator
- 2005 · Japan's War in Colour as Self - Narrator (voice)
- 2002 · The Trials of Henry Kissinger as Self
- 2002 · Loch Lomond: Legend of the Loch as Narrator
- 2002 · Rasputin: The Devil in the Flesh as Narrator
- 2001 · Inside 'Manhunter' as Himself
- 2000 · The Invention of Dr. Morel as Dr. Morel
- 1997 · Food for Ravens as Aneurin Bevan
- 1996 · Witness Against Hitler as Judge Freisler
- 1994 · The Maltese Double Cross as Narrator (voice)
- 1992 · The Cutter as
- 1992 · The Lost Language of Cranes as Owen Benjamin
- 1992 · The Cloning of Joanna May as Carl May
- 1992 · Deceptions as Carlton Heard
- 1990 · The Making of 'Hidden Agenda' as self
- 1988 · Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky as Voiceover Narrator
- 1987 · Rat in the Skull as Detective Inspector Nelson
- 1985 · The Cantor of St Thomas's as Johann Sebastian Bach
- 1968 · The Year of the Sex Olympics as Lasar Opie
- Future · The Planets as
- 2025 · Raoul Wallenberg: Missing Inaction as Gustaf Wallenberg (voice)
- 2025 · VE Day 80 as Self
- 2025 · The Parenting as Frank
- 2025 · AMR: Dying to Change the World as AMR
- 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 · Bill Douglas: My Best Friend as Narrator (voice)
- 2023 · An Interview with Brian Cox as Himself
- 2022 · The Independent as Nick Booker
- 2022 · Remembers… as
- 2022 · Piers Morgan Uncensored as Self
- 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 · Strange but True as Bill
- 2018 · Kubrick by Candlelight as The Narrator
- 2018 · Super Troopers 2 as John O'Hagen
- 2017 · An Evening with Brian Cox as Himself
- 2017 · Vegalta: Soccer, Tsunami and the Hope of a Nation as Narrator
- 2016 · Darcey Bussell: My Life on the BBC as Self
- 2016 · Morgan as Jim Bryce
- 2015 · Killing Thyme as Norman
- 2015 · Forsaken as James McCurdy
- 2015 · Pacific Warriors as Narrator
- 2015 · Andrew Carnegie: Rags to Riches, Power to Peace as Andrew Carnegie (voice)
- 2014 · The Game as Daddy
- 2014 · The Great War: The People's Story as Rev. Andrew Clark
- 2013 · Anna as Sebastian
- 2013 · Believe as Matt Busby
- 2012 · A Touch of Cloth as Bill Ball
- 2012 · The Campaign as Raymond
- 2012 · Tooned as The Mechanic
- 2012 · The Straits as Harry Montebello
- 2012 · I Missed My Mother's Funeral as Old Man
- 2011 · The Veteran as Gerry
- 2011 · Ironclad as Albany
- 2011 · Coriolanus as Menenius
- 2011 · The Sinking of the Laconia as Captain Sharp
- 2010 · On Expenses as
- 2009 · Brian Cox's Jute Journey as Self
- 2009 · The Good Heart as Jacques
- 2009 · The Take as Ozzy
- 2009 · Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword as Green Dragon (voice)
- 2009 · Kings as King Vesper Abaddon
- 2008 · Red as Avery Ludlow
- 2008 · The Escapist as Frank Perry
- 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)
- 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
- 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 · Aleister Crowley: The Wickedest Man in the World as Narrator
- 2002 · The Ring as Richard Morgan
- 2002 · The Rookie as Jim Morris Sr.
- 2002 · Masters of Darkness as Narrator
- 2001 · L.I.E. as Big John Harrigan
- 2001 · Super Troopers as Captain O'Hagen
- 2000 · Nuremberg as Herman Wilhelm Goering
- 2000 · Nuremberg as Herman Wilhelm Goering
- 2000 · Mad About Mambo as Sidney McLoughlin
- 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 · Battle of the Clans as Narrator
- 1998 · Desperate Measures as Captain Jeremiah Cassidy
- 1997 · The Boxer as Joe Hamill
- 1997 · Kiss the Girls as Chief Hatfield, Durham PD
- 1997 · I, Caesar – The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire as Narrator
- 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 · Iron Will as Angus McTeague
- 1993 · Sharpe as Major Hogan
- 1992 · Shakespeare: The Animated Tales as Macbeth (voice)
- 1991 · Red Fox as Geoffrey Harrison
- 1991 · Performance as The Director
- 1990 · Perfect Scoundrels as Father Amedy
- 1989 · Brian Cox on Acting in Tragedy as Self
- 1989 · The Blasphemers' Banquet as Rev. Wallace (voice)
- 1988 · The Modern World: Ten Great Writers as Henrik Ibsen (voice)
- 1987 · Shoot for the Sun as Dunny
- 1987 · French & Saunders as King Lear
- 1987 · Gramsci: Everything that Concerns People as Narrator
- 1986 · Unnatural Causes as Vic
- 1986 · Home Cooking as Vic
- 1980 · Dalhousie's Luck as Dalhousie
- 1976 · Clay, Smeddum and Greenden as George Simpson
- Future · The Glove as
- Future · Wittgenstein's Poker as Bertrand Russell (voice)
- Future · A Modern Magician as The Voice
- Future · The Sunrise File as Oded Ailam (voice)
- 1986 · Manhunter as Dr. Hannibal Lecktor
- 1983 · King Lear as Burgundy
- 1982 · A Cotswold Death as Dr. Gillespie
- 1982 · The Privilege as Young Laird
- 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
- 1975 · In Celebration as Steven Shaw
- 1974 · Churchill's People as William Wallace
- 1974 · The Changeling as Alsemero
- 1972 · Van der Valk as Stefan Szabo
- 1971 · Nicholas and Alexandra as Trotsky
- 1970 · Manhunt as Anton
- 1967 · The Gamblers as Mickey
- 1965 · A Knight in Tarnished Armour as Nelson