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: Winter Soldiers as Capt. John O’Hagan
- 2025 · Raoul Wallenberg: Missing Inaction as Self — Gustaf Wallenberg (voice)
- 2025 · Glenrothan as Sandy
- 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 · Made of Money with Brian Cox as
- 2023 · Bill Douglas: My Best Friend as Narrator (voice)
- 2023 · Prisoner's Daughter as Max
- 2023 · Mending the Line as Ike Fletcher
- 2023 · An Interview with Brian Cox as Himself
- 2022 · Ooh the Banter! as Self
- 2022 · Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba as Self
- 2022 · Brian Cox: How The Other Half Live as Presenter
- 2022 · Ukraine: Answering the Call as Self
- 2022 · Piers Morgan Uncensored as Self
- 2019 · The Last Right as Father Reilly
- 2019 · Strange But True as Bill
- 2018 · Succession as Logan Roy
- 2018 · Super Troopers 2 as John O'Hagen
- 2018 · The Etruscan Smile as Rory MacNeil
- 2017 · The Russell Howard Hour as Self
- 2017 · An Evening with Brian Cox as Himself
- 2017 · Bob the Builder: Mega Machines - The Movie as Conrad / Crunch (voice)
- 2017 · Brian Cox's Russia as Host
- 2016 · The Carer as Sir Michael
- 2015 · The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as
- 2015 · The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self
- 2015 · The Slap as Manolis
- 2014 · Variety Studio: Actors on Actors as Self
- 2014 · The Gospel of John as Narrator (voice) – King James Version
- 2014 · The Game as Daddy
- 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 · Blumenthal as Harold Blumenthal
- 2013 · RED 2 as Ivan
- 2013 · Shetland as Magnus Bain
- 2013 · The Last Leg as Self
- 2012 · Addicted to Pleasure as Self - Host
- 2012 · A Touch of Cloth as Bill Ball
- 2012 · The Campaign as Raymond
- 2012 · All at Sea as Wally
- 2012 · The Straits as Harry Montebello
- 2011 · Exit Humanity as Malcolm Young (voice)
- 2011 · The Jonathan Ross Show as Self
- 2011 · The Jonathan Ross Show as Self - Guest
- 2011 · Ironclad as Albany
- 2011 · The Key Man as Irving
- 2010 · As Good As Dead as Reverend Kalahan
- 2009 · The Day of the Triffids as Dennis Masen
- 2009 · The Good Heart as Jacques
- 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 · Shoot on Sight as Daniel Tennant
- 2007 · Trick 'r Treat as Mr. Kreeg
- 2007 · Battle for Terra as General Hemmer (voice)
- 2007 · The Graham Norton Show as Self
- 2006 · The Outsiders as Gabriel
- 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
- 2004 · The Tony Danza Show as Self
- 2004 · Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson as Other Voices (voice)
- 2004 · Troy as King Agamemnon
- 2004 · Deadwood as Jack Langrishe
- 2004 · Murder by Numbers as Self
- 2003 · The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2 as Self
- 2003 · One Life as
- 2003 · The Evolution of an American Filmmaker as Self
- 2003 · X2 as William Stryker
- 2003 · Real Time with Bill Maher as Self
- 2003 · Jimmy Kimmel Live! as Self - Guest
- 2002 · 25th Hour as James Brogan
- 2002 · Top Gear as Self
- 2002 · The Biographer as Michael O'Mara
- 2002 · The Bourne Identity as Ward Abbott
- 2002 · Bug as Cyr
- 2001 · L.I.E. as Big John Harrigan
- 2001 · Strictly Sinatra as Chisolm
- 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 · Mad About Mambo as Sidney McLoughlin
- 2000 · The Invention of Dr. Morel as Dr. Morel
- 2000 · Longitude as Lord Morton
- 1999 · For Love of the Game as Gary Wheeler
- 1998 · Poodle Springs as Clayton Blackstone
- 1998 · Merchants of Venus as Uncle Vladimir
- 1997 · Food for Ravens as Aneurin Bevan
- 1997 · Sharpe: The Legend as Hogan
- 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 · Superman: The Animated Series as Dr. Earl Garver (voice)
- 1996 · The Daily Show as Self
- 1995 · Braveheart as Argyle Wallace
- 1993 · Frasier as Harry Moon
- 1992 · Shakespeare: The Animated Tales as Macbeth (voice)
- 1992 · The Cutter as
- 1992 · The Lost Language of Cranes as Owen Benjamin
- 1992 · Deceptions as Carlton Heard
- 1991 · Red Fox as Geoffrey Harrison
- 1990 · Have I Got News for You as Self
- 1990 · Perfect Scoundrels as Father Amedy
- 1989 · The Simpsons as Kostas Becker (voice)
- 1989 · The Blasphemers' Banquet as Rev. Wallace (voice)
- 1989 · Murder on the Moon as Voronov
- 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 · Shoot for the Sun as Dunny
- 1987 · French & Saunders as King Lear
- 1987 · Inspector Morse as Michael Steppings
- 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
- 1978 · Out as McGrath
- 1978 · The Devil's Crown as Henry II
- 1977 · Target as Billy Voss
- 1976 · Clay, Smeddum and Greenden as George Simpson
- 1975 · In Celebration as Steven Shaw
- 1974 · Churchill's People as William Wallace
- 1974 · Playhouse as Dalhousie
- 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
- 2025 · The Electric State as Popfly (voice)
- 2023 · 007: Road to a Million as The Controller
- 2022 · Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg as Self – Actor
- 2021 · Blade Runner: Black Lotus as Niander Wallace Sr. (voice)
- 2019 · Good Omens as Death (voice)
- 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 · Forsaken as James McCurdy
- 2015 · Pixels as Admiral Porter
- 2014 · The Anomaly as Dr. Langham
- 2014 · Penny Dreadful as Jared Talbot
- 2011 · Celebrity Antiques Road Trip as Self - Participant
- 2011 · Rise of the Planet of the Apes as John Landon
- 2011 · The Veteran as Gerry
- 2010 · RED as Ivan Simanov
- 2009 · Fantastic Mr. Fox as Action 12 Reporter (voice)
- 2007 · The Bourne Ultimatum as Ward Abbott (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 2007 · Zodiac as Melvin Belli
- 2004 · The Bourne Supremacy as Ward Abbott
- 2002 · Adaptation. as Robert McKee
- 2002 · The Ring as Richard Morgan
- 2002 · The Rookie as Jim Morris Sr.
- 2001 · Richard & Judy as Self
- 1999 · The Corruptor as Sean Wallace
- 1998 · Rushmore as Dr. Nelson Guggenheim
- 1998 · Desperate Measures as Captain Jeremiah Cassidy
- 1993 · Sharpe as Major Hogan
- 1992 · Six Characters in Search of An Author as The Director
- 1991 · Performance as The Director
- 1979 · Question Time as Self - Panellist
- 1972 · Van der Valk as Stefan Szabo
- 1970 · Manhunt as Anton
- 1965 · BBC Play of the Month as Alsemero
- 1965 · A Knight in Tarnished Armour as Nelson
- 1964 · Theatre 625 as Lasar Opie
- Future · Old Pals as Jimmy
- 1974 · The Changeling as Alsemero
- Future · A Modern Magician as The Voice
- 2025 · The Marbles as Self - Interviewee
- 2025 · VE Day 80 as Self
- 2025 · The Parenting as Frank
- 2025 · AMR: Dying to Change the World as AMR
- 2024 · Unsinkable as Robert Dodds
- 2023 · Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius as Self
- 2023 · Quasi as Narrator (voice)
- 2022 · Bonnie as Self
- 2022 · The Independent as Nick Booker
- 2021 · Separation as Rivers
- 2021 · Oleg: The Oleg Vidov Story as Narrator (voice)
- 2020 · The Bay of Silence as Milton
- 2020 · John Rebus: The Lockdown Blues as John Rebus
- 2020 · Last Moment of Clarity as Gilles
- 2020 · Lawrence After Arabia as Father (Voice)
- 2019 · Pretenders as Henry
- 2019 · Remember Me as Shane
- 2018 · Kubrick by Candlelight as The Narrator
- 2018 · Widdershins as voice
- 2017 · Churchill as Winston Churchill
- 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
- 2016 · Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light 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 · Scotland In A Day as
- 2014 · The Great War: The People's Story as Rev. Andrew Clark
- 2013 · An Adventure in Space and Time as Sydney Newman
- 2013 · The Curse of Edgar as Edgar Hoover
- 2013 · Bob Servant as Bob Servant
- 2012 · Blood as Lenny Fairburn
- 2012 · Tooned as The Mechanic
- 2012 · I Missed My Mother's Funeral as Old Man
- 2011 · Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster as Glover
- 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 · Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword as Green Dragon (voice)
- 2007 · The Water Horse as Old Angus
- 2007 · The Secret of the Nutcracker as Drosselmeyer
- 2007 · A Woman in Winter as Dr. Hunt
- 2006 · Running with Scissors as Dr. Finch
- 2006 · The Flying Scotsman as Douglas Baxter
- 2006 · Carry On Ken as Self
- 2005 · The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle as Joseph Bell
- 2005 · Danny Phantom: Reign Storm as Pariah Dark (Voice)
- 2005 · Hitler in Colour as Narrator
- 2005 · Blue/Orange as Dr. Robert Smith
- 2005 · Japan's War in Colour as Self - Narrator (voice)
- 2004 · The Reckoning as Tobias
- 2003 · Sin as Captain Oakes
- 2002 · Aleister Crowley: The Wickedest Man in the World as Narrator
- 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
- 2002 · Masters of Darkness as Narrator
- 2002 · Smallpox 2002: Silent Weapon as Narrator
- 2001 · The Affair of the Necklace as Minister Breteuil
- 2001 · Inside 'Manhunter' as Himself
- 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 History of the British Police Force as Narrator (voice)
- 1999 · The Minus Man as Doug
- 1997 · The Boxer as Joe Hamill
- 1996 · The Glimmer Man as Mr. Smith
- 1996 · Chain Reaction as Lyman Earl Collier
- 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
- 1994 · Prince of Jutland as Aethelwine
- 1994 · Iron Will as Angus McTeague
- 1993 · Sharpe's Eagle as Major Michael Hogan
- 1993 · Sharpe's Rifles as Major Michael Hogan
- 1992 · Macbeth as Macbeth
- 1992 · The Big Battalions as Edward Hoyland
- 1992 · The Cloning of Joanna May as Carl May
- 1990 · Hidden Agenda as Peter Kerrigan
- 1990 · The Making of 'Hidden Agenda' as self
- 1990 · Secret Weapon as Andrew Neil
- 1989 · Brian Cox on Acting in Tragedy as Self
- 1988 · Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky as Voiceover Narrator
- 1988 · Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun as Jack Purves
- 1987 · Acting as
- 1987 · Rat in the Skull as Detective Inspector Nelson
- 1987 · Gramsci: Everything that Concerns People as Narrator
- 1986 · Unnatural Causes as Vic
- 1986 · Home Cooking as Vic
- 1986 · Manhunter as Dr. Hannibal Lecktor
- 1985 · The Cantor of St Thomas's as Johann Sebastian Bach
- 1983 · King Lear as Burgundy
- Future · Wittgenstein's Poker as Bertrand Russell (voice)
- Future · The Planets as
- 1982 · A Cotswold Death as Dr. Gillespie
- 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
- 1971 · Nicholas and Alexandra as Trotsky
- 1968 · The Year of the Sex Olympics as Lasar Opie
- 1967 · The Gamblers as Mickey
- Future · The Glove as