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