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
- 2023 · 007: Road to a Million as The Controller
- 2023 · Quasi as Narrator (voice)
- 2022 · Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba as Self
- 2022 · The Independent as Nick Booker
- 2022 · Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg as Self – Actor
- 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 · Last Moment of Clarity as Gilles
- 2020 · Lawrence After Arabia as Father (Voice)
- 2019 · Good Omens as Death (voice)
- 2018 · Succession as Logan Roy
- 2018 · Super Troopers 2 as John O'Hagen
- 2017 · The Russell Howard Hour as Self
- 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 · 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
- 2015 · The Slap as Manolis
- 2014 · Variety Studio: Actors on Actors as Self
- 2014 · The Game as Daddy
- 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
- 2012 · A Touch of Cloth as Bill Ball
- 2012 · The Campaign as Raymond
- 2012 · Tooned as The Mechanic
- 2012 · All at Sea as Wally
- 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 · The Key Man as Irving
- 2011 · Coriolanus as Menenius
- 2010 · RED as Ivan Simanov
- 2010 · On Expenses as
- 2010 · As Good As Dead as Reverend Kalahan
- 2009 · The Day of the Triffids as Dennis Masen
- 2009 · Fantastic Mr. Fox as Action 12 Reporter (voice)
- 2009 · The Take as Ozzy
- 2009 · Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword as Green Dragon (voice)
- 2009 · Kings as King Vesper Abaddon
- 2008 · The Colour of Magic as Narrator
- 2007 · The Water Horse as Old Angus
- 2007 · Trick 'r Treat as Mr. Kreeg
- 2007 · The Bourne Ultimatum as Ward Abbott (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 2007 · A Woman in Winter as Dr. Hunt
- 2007 · Zodiac as Melvin Belli
- 2007 · The Graham Norton Show as Self
- 2007 · M.I. High as Voice of the Mastermind
- 2006 · Running with Scissors as Dr. Finch
- 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 · The Bourne Supremacy as Ward Abbott
- 2004 · Troy as King Agamemnon
- 2004 · Deadwood as Jack Langrishe
- 2004 · The Reckoning as Tobias
- 2003 · The Evolution of an American Filmmaker as Self
- 2003 · Real Time with Bill Maher as Self
- 2003 · Jimmy Kimmel Live! as Self - Guest
- 2002 · 25th Hour as James Brogan
- 2002 · Adaptation. as Robert McKee
- 2002 · Top Gear as Self
- 2002 · The Ring as Richard Morgan
- 2002 · The Trials of Henry Kissinger as Self
- 2002 · The Bourne Identity as Ward Abbott
- 2002 · Loch Lomond: Legend of the Loch as Narrator
- 2002 · The Rookie as Jim Morris Sr.
- 2001 · Richard & Judy as Self
- 2001 · Super Troopers as Captain O'Hagen
- 2000 · Aqua Teen Hunger Force as Anubis (voice)
- 2000 · Nuremberg as Herman Wilhelm Goering
- 2000 · A Shot at Glory as Martin Smith
- 2000 · Longitude as Lord Morton
- 2000 · Longitude as Lord Morton
- 1999 · The Minus Man as Doug
- 1999 · For Love of the Game as Gary Wheeler
- 1998 · Rushmore as Dr. Nelson Guggenheim
- 1997 · Food for Ravens as Aneurin Bevan
- 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
- 1995 · Rob Roy as Killearn
- 1994 · Iron Will as Angus McTeague
- 1993 · Frasier as Harry Moon
- 1993 · Sharpe as Major Hogan
- 1992 · Shakespeare: The Animated Tales as Macbeth (voice)
- 1992 · The Cloning of Joanna May as Carl May
- 1991 · Performance as The Director
- 1990 · Have I Got News for You as Self
- 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
- 1988 · The Modern World: Ten Great Writers as Henrik Ibsen (voice)
- 1987 · French & Saunders as King Lear
- 1987 · Inspector Morse as Michael Steppings
- 1987 · Gramsci: Everything that Concerns People as Narrator
- 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
- 1974 · Churchill's People as William Wallace
- 1974 · Playhouse as Dalhousie
- 1972 · Van der Valk as Stefan Szabo
- 1971 · Great Performances as Self - Narration (voice)
- Future · Have I Got a Bit More News for You as Himself - Panellist
- 1970 · Play for Today as Dr. Gillespie
- 1970 · Manhunt as Anton
- 1965 · BBC Play of the Month as Alsemero
- Future · The Glove as
- 2026 · Super Troopers 3: Winter Soldiers as Capt. John O’Hagan
- 2026 · Glenrothan as Sandy
- 2024 · Skelly as Grandpa
- 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 · Ukraine: Answering the Call as Self
- 2018 · Kubrick by Candlelight as The Narrator
- 2017 · Brian Cox's Russia as Host
- 2015 · Killing Thyme as Norman
- 2015 · Pacific Warriors as Narrator
- 2014 · Scotland In A Day as
- 2012 · Addicted to Pleasure as Self - Host
- 2008 · Agent Crush as Spanners (voice)
- 2007 · The Secret of the Nutcracker as Drosselmeyer
- 2007 · Shoot on Sight as Daniel Tennant
- 2005 · Hitler in Colour as Narrator
- 2005 · Blue/Orange as Dr. Robert Smith
- 2005 · Japan's War in Colour as Self - Narrator (voice)
- 2002 · The Biographer as Michael O'Mara
- 2002 · Smallpox 2002: Silent Weapon as Narrator
- 2001 · Inside 'Manhunter' as Himself
- 2000 · Complicity as Inspector McDunn
- 2000 · Mad About Mambo as Sidney McLoughlin
- 1997 · I, Caesar – The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire as Narrator
- 1994 · The Negotiator as Charlie King
- 1992 · The Cutter as
- 1991 · Red Fox as Geoffrey Harrison
- 1990 · The Making of 'Hidden Agenda' as self
- 1990 · Secret Weapon as Andrew Neil
- 1988 · Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky as Voiceover Narrator
- 1987 · Shoot for the Sun as Dunny
- 1986 · Home Cooking as Vic
- 1983 · King Lear as Burgundy
- 1974 · The Changeling as Alsemero
- Future · Old Pals as Jimmy
- 2025 · The Marbles as Self - Interviewee
- 2025 · Raoul Wallenberg: Missing Inaction as Gustaf Wallenberg (voice)
- 2025 · VE Day 80 as Self
- 2025 · AMR: Dying to Change the World as AMR
- 2024 · Little Wing as Jaan Vari
- 2023 · Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius as Self
- 2023 · Bill Douglas: My Best Friend as Narrator (voice)
- 2023 · Prisoner's Daughter as Max
- 2023 · Mending the Line as Ike Fletcher
- 2022 · Ooh the Banter! as Self
- 2022 · Bonnie as Self
- 2022 · Remembers… as
- 2022 · Piers Morgan Uncensored as Self
- 2021 · Amol Rajan Interviews as Self - Interviewed Guest
- 2020 · John Rebus: The Lockdown Blues as John Rebus
- 2019 · The Last Right as Father Reilly
- 2019 · Strange but True as Bill
- 2019 · Pretenders as Henry
- 2019 · Remember Me as Shane
- 2018 · Widdershins as voice
- 2018 · The Etruscan Smile as Rory MacNeil
- 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 · The Carer as Sir Michael
- 2015 · Andrew Carnegie: Rags to Riches, Power to Peace as Andrew Carnegie (voice)
- 2014 · The Gospel of John as Narrator (voice) – King James Version
- 2014 · The Great War: The People's Story as Rev. Andrew Clark
- 2014 · The Anomaly as Dr. Langham
- 2013 · An Adventure in Space and Time as Sydney Newman
- 2013 · The Curse of Edgar as Edgar Hoover
- 2013 · Anna as Sebastian
- 2013 · Believe as Matt Busby
- 2013 · Blumenthal as Harold Blumenthal
- 2013 · Bob Servant as Bob Servant
- 2012 · Blood as Lenny Fairburn
- 2012 · I Missed My Mother's Funeral as Old Man
- 2011 · Exit Humanity as Malcolm Young (voice)
- 2011 · Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster as Glover
- 2011 · The Veteran as Gerry
- 2011 · The Sinking of the Laconia as Captain Sharp
- 2009 · Brian Cox's Jute Journey as Self
- 2009 · The Good Heart as Jacques
- 2009 · Tell-Tale as Van Doren
- 2008 · Red as Avery Ludlow
- 2008 · The Escapist as Frank Perry
- 2007 · Battle for Terra as General Hemmer (voice)
- 2006 · The Outsiders as Gabriel
- 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
- 2004 · Murder by Numbers as Self
- 2003 · The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2 as Self
- 2003 · One Life as
- 2003 · X2 as William Stryker
- 2003 · Sin as Captain Oakes
- 2002 · Aleister Crowley: The Wickedest Man in the World as Narrator
- 2002 · Bug as Cyr
- 2002 · Rasputin: The Devil in the Flesh as Narrator
- 2002 · Masters of Darkness as Narrator
- 2001 · The Affair of the Necklace as Minister Breteuil
- 2001 · L.I.E. as Big John Harrigan
- 2001 · Strictly Sinatra as Chisolm
- 2000 · Saltwater as George Beneventi
- 2000 · The Invention of Dr. Morel as Dr. Morel
- 2000 · The Making of 'Rushmore' as Self
- 1999 · The History of the British Police Force as Narrator (voice)
- 1999 · The Corruptor as Sean Wallace
- 1998 · Poodle Springs as Clayton Blackstone
- 1998 · Battle of the Clans as Narrator
- 1998 · Merchants of Venus as Uncle Vladimir
- 1998 · Desperate Measures as Captain Jeremiah Cassidy
- 1997 · The Boxer as Joe Hamill
- 1997 · Sharpe: The Legend as Hogan
- 1994 · The Maltese Double Cross as Narrator (voice)
- 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 · Macbeth as Macbeth
- 1992 · The Big Battalions as Edward Hoyland
- 1992 · The Lost Language of Cranes as Owen Benjamin
- 1992 · Deceptions as Carlton Heard
- 1990 · Hidden Agenda as Peter Kerrigan
- 1990 · Perfect Scoundrels as Father Amedy
- 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
- 1987 · Rat in the Skull as Detective Inspector Nelson
- 1986 · Unnatural Causes as Vic
- 1986 · Manhunter as Dr. Hannibal Lecktor
- 1985 · Florence Nightingale as Dr. McGregor
- 1985 · The Cantor of St Thomas's as Johann Sebastian Bach
- 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 LeClaire
- 1978 · Out as McGrath
- 1978 · The Devil's Crown as Henry II
- 1977 · Target as Billy Voss
- 1975 · In Celebration as Steven Shaw
- 1971 · Nicholas and Alexandra as Trotsky
- 1968 · The Year of the Sex Olympics as Lasar Opie
- 1967 · The Gamblers as Mickey
- 1965 · A Knight in Tarnished Armour as Nelson
- 1964 · Theatre 625 as Lasar Opie
- Future · Wittgenstein's Poker as Bertrand Russell (voice)
- Future · A Modern Magician as The Voice
- 1976 · Clay, Smeddum and Greenden as George Simpson
- Future · The Planets as
- Future · The Sunrise File as Oded Ailam (voice)