Brian Cox
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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
Troy (2004)
as Agamemnon
Zodiac (2007)
as Melvin Belli
Pixels (2015)
as Admiral Porter
The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)
as Tommy Tilden
The Bourne Identity (2002)
as Ward Abbott
Braveheart (1995)
as Argyle Wallace
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
as John Landon
Her (2013)
as Alan Watts (voice)
The Ring (2002)
as Richard Morgan
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
as Ward Abbott (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
as Action 12 Reporter (voice)
RED (2010)
as Ivan Simanov
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024)
as Helm Hammerhand (voice)
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
as Ward Abbott
The Electric State (2025)
as Popfly (voice)
Red Eye (2005)
as Joe Reisert
Glenrothan (2026)
as Sandy
Match Point (2005)
as Alec Hewett
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)
as Dr. Nathan Waldman
RED 2 (2013)
as Ivan
Kiss the Girls (1997)
as Chief Hatfield, Durham PD
Ironclad (2011)
as Albany
25th Hour (2002)
as James Brogan
Rushmore (1998)
as Dr. Nelson Guggenheim
Trick 'r Treat (2007)
as Mr. Kreeg
The Rookie (2002)
as Jim Morris Sr.
Chain Reaction (1996)
as Lyman Earl Collier
Rob Roy (1995)
as Killearn
The Campaign (2012)
as Raymond
Super Troopers (2001)
as Captain O'Hagen
Adaptation. (2002)
as Robert McKee
Forsaken (2015)
as James McCurdy
The Water Horse (2007)
as Old Angus
Red (2008)
as Avery Ludlow
That Christmas (2024)
as Santa (voice)
Desperate Measures (1998)
as Captain Jeremiah Cassidy
Anna (2013)
as Sebastian
The Glimmer Man (1996)
as Mr. Smith
The Corruptor (1999)
as Sean Wallace
Iron Will (1994)
as Angus McTeague
Morgan (2016)
as Jim Bryce
For Love of the Game (1999)
as Gary Wheeler
Separation (2021)
as Rivers
The Parenting (2025)
as Frank
The Boxer (1997)
as Joe Hamill
Super Troopers 2 (2018)
as John O'Hagen
Super Troopers 3 (2026)
as Capt. John O’Hagan
The Veteran (2011)
as Gerry
Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword (2009)
as Green Dragon (voice)
Sharpe's Rifles (1993)
as Major Michael Hogan
The Reckoning (2004)
as Tobias
Churchill (2017)
as Winston Churchill
The Ringer (2005)
as Gary Barker
Coriolanus (2011)
as Menenius
Remember Me (2019)
as Shane
The Anomaly (2014)
as Dr. Langham
The Escapist (2008)
as Frank Perry
L.I.E. (2001)
as Big John Harrigan
Battle for Terra (2007)
as General Hemmer (voice)
Strange but True (2019)
as Bill
The Carer (2016)
as Sir Michael
The Independent (2022)
as Nick Booker
Bonnie (2022)
as Self
The Affair of the Necklace (2001)
as Minister Breteuil
The Etruscan Smile (2018)
as Rory MacNeil
Last Moment of Clarity (2020)
as Gilles
Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)
as Trotsky
Tell-Tale (2009)
as Van Doren
The Flying Scotsman (2006)
as Douglas Baxter
The Bay of Silence (2020)
as Milton
As Good As Dead (2010)
as Reverend Kalahan
Running with Scissors (2006)
as Dr. Finch
Blood (2012)
as Lenny Fairburn
The Minus Man (1999)
as Doug
The Last Right (2019)
as Father Reilly
King Lear (1983)
as Burgundy
Quasi (2023)
as Narrator (voice)
An Adventure in Space and Time (2013)
as Sydney Newman
Prisoner's Daughter (2023)
as Max
Longitude (2000)
as Lord Morton
Hidden Agenda (1990)
as Peter Kerrigan
Poodle Springs (1998)
as Clayton Blackstone
The Good Heart (2009)
as Jacques
Old Pals (—)
as Jimmy
Sharpe's Eagle (1993)
as Major Michael Hogan
All at Sea (2012)
as Wally
Florence Nightingale (1985)
as Dr. McGregor
Shoot on Sight (2007)
as Daniel Tennant
Bob the Builder: Mega Machines - The Movie (2017)
as Conrad / Crunch (voice)
Exit Humanity (2011)
as Malcolm Young (voice)
Prince of Jutland (1994)
as Aethelwine
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004)
as Other Voices (voice)
Agent Crush (2008)
as Spanners (voice)
Little Wing (2024)
as Jaan Vari
The Key Man (2011)
as Irving
Believe (2013)
as Matt Busby
Mad About Mambo (2000)
as Sidney McLoughlin
Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster (2011)
as Glover
Sin (2003)
as Captain Oakes
Merchants of Venus (1998)
as Uncle Vladimir
The Marbles (2025)
as Self - Interviewee
Sharpe: The Legend (1997)
as Hogan
A Shot at Glory (2000)
as Martin Smith
Bug (2002)
as Cyr
The Sunrise File (2026)
as Oded Ailam (voice)
Complicity (2000)
as Inspector McDunn
Pope John Paul II (1984)
as Father Góra
Inside 'Manhunter' (2001)
as Himself
Mending the Line (2023)
as Ike Fletcher
Home Cooking (1986)
as Vic
Blumenthal (2013)
as Harold Blumenthal
Carry On Ken (2006)
as Self
The Evolution of an American Filmmaker (2003)
as Self
The Trials of Henry Kissinger (2002)
as Self
The Cutter (1992)
Actor
The Lost Language of Cranes (1992)
as Owen Benjamin
The Biographer (2002)
as Michael O'Mara
The Privilege (1982)
as Young Laird
The Year of the Sex Olympics (1968)
as Lasar Opie
Saltwater (2000)
as George Beneventi
On Expenses (2010)
as Michael Martin
The Color of Magic - Die Reise des Zauberers Teil 2 (2008)
as Narrator
The Changeling (1974)
as Alsemero
The Outsiders (2006)
as Gabriel
Secret Weapon (1990)
as Andrew Neil
Red Fox (1991)
as Geoffrey Harrison
Blue/Orange (2005)
as Dr. Robert Smith
The Color of Magic - Die Reise des Zauberers Teil 1 (2008)
as Narrator
Pretenders (2019)
as Henry
The Negotiator (1994)
as Charlie King
The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle (2005)
as Joseph Bell
Witness Against Hitler (1996)
as Judge Freisler
Murder on the Moon (1989)
as Voronov
Strictly Sinatra (2001)
as Chisolm
Lawrence After Arabia (2020)
as Father (Voice)
Killing Thyme (2015)
as Norman
Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba (2022)
as Self
Skelly (2024)
as Grandpa
Wittgenstein's Poker (—)
as Bertrand Russell (voice)
Lindsay Anderson: Lucky Man? (2004)
as Self
Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light (2016)
as Self
The Glove (—)
Actor
X2 (2003)
as William Stryker
The Secret of the Nutcracker (2007)
as Drosselmeyer
Oleg: The Oleg Vidov Story (2021)
as Narrator (voice)
Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun (1988)
as Jack Purves
The Gospel of John (2014)
as Narrator (voice) – King James Version
Shoot for the Sun (1987)
as Dunny
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2 (2003)
as Self
Grushko (1994)
as Colonel Yevgeni Grushko
Rat in the Skull (1987)
as Detective Inspector Nelson
In Celebration (1975)
as Steven Shaw
Scotland In A Day (2014)
Actor
A Woman in Winter (2007)
as Dr. Hunt
The Making of 'Hidden Agenda' (1990)
as self
Hitler in Colour (2005)
as Narrator
Ooh the Banter! (2022)
as Self
The Cloning of Joanna May (1992)
as Carl May
The Making of 'Rushmore' (2000)
as Self
Bill Douglas: My Best Friend (2023)
as Narrator (voice)
The Curse of Edgar (2013)
as Edgar Hoover
Raoul Wallenberg: Missing Inaction (2025)
as Gustaf Wallenberg (voice)
Clay, Smeddum and Greenden (1976)
as George Simpson
The Planets (—)
Actor
Food for Ravens (1997)
as Aneurin Bevan
Murder by Numbers (2004)
as Self
A Cotswold Death (1982)
as Dr. Gillespie
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky (1988)
as Voiceover Narrator
Smallpox 2002: Silent Weapon (2002)
as Narrator
The Maltese Double Cross (1994)
as Narrator (voice)
Dalhousie's Luck (1980)
as Dalhousie
Rasputin: The Devil in the Flesh (2002)
as Narrator
Japan's War in Colour (2005)
as Self - Narrator (voice)
The Blasphemers' Banquet (1989)
as Rev. Wallace (voice)
Gramsci: Everything that Concerns People (1987)
as Narrator
Deceptions (1992)
as Carlton Heard
The Invention of Dr. Morel (2000)
as Dr. Morel
Ukraine: Answering the Call (2022)
as Self
Widdershins (2018)
as voice
Six Characters in Search of An Author (1992)
as The Director
Loch Lomond: Legend of the Loch (2002)
as Narrator
Darcey Bussell: My Life on the BBC (2016)
as Self
AMR: Dying to Change the World (2025)
as AMR
Kubrick by Candlelight (2018)
as The Narrator
A Knight in Tarnished Armour (1965)
as Nelson
Pacific Warriors (2015)
as Narrator
Aleister Crowley: The Wickedest Man in the World (2002)
as Narrator
Andrew Carnegie: Rags to Riches, Power to Peace (2015)
as Andrew Carnegie (voice)
An Interview with Brian Cox (2023)
as Himself
Manhunter (1986)
as Dr. Hannibal Lecktor
I Missed My Mother's Funeral (2012)
as Old Man
An Evening with Brian Cox (2017)
as Himself
The History of the British Police Force (1999)
as Narrator (voice)
Battle of the Clans (1998)
as Narrator
Vegalta: Soccer, Tsunami and the Hope of a Nation (2017)
as Narrator
A Modern Magician (—)
as The Voice
John Rebus: The Lockdown Blues (2020)
as John Rebus
The Cantor of St Thomas's (1985)
as Johann Sebastian Bach
Brian Cox's Jute Journey (2009)
as Self
Brian Cox on Acting in Tragedy (1989)
as Self
The Simpsons: A Serious Flanders (2021)
as Kostas Becker (voice)