- Brian Cox, nearly 80, told The Times he’s done holding back, unloading fresh criticism on Margot Robbie, and doubling down on past slams of Johnny Depp and Edward Norton.
- Cox mocked Robbie’s casting in Wuthering Heights, called Depp “overblown and overrated,” labeled Norton “a pain in the arse,” and torched Quentin Tarantino and Gary Oldman along the way.
- The Succession star dismissed concerns from his wife and even Daniel Day-Lewis, declaring: “F–k it! I’m gonna say what I want to say.”
Brian Cox has never been shy about his opinions. But somewhere between Succession wrapping and his upcoming 80th birthday, the Scottish actor has apparently decided that the filter is fully, officially, irrevocably off.
In a new profile with The Times UK — timed to promote his directorial debut Glenrothan — Cox dragged a remarkable roster of Hollywood names through the mud with the cheerful energy of a man who has genuinely stopped caring what anyone thinks.
When asked whether his relentless commentary on fellow stars has cost him anything, Cox was refreshingly unbothered. “I mean, my wife [Nicole Ansari-Cox] keeps saying, ‘Brian, be careful. Brian, be careful.’ I think, ‘F–k it, I don’t want to be careful anymore! I’ll be 80 this year. F—k it! I’m gonna say what I want to say,'” he told the outlet.
And say it he did.
Johnny Depp: Still Overrated, Apparently
Cox revealed that he declined to play the governor in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise because he didn’t want to work with Johnny Depp, whom he called “so overblown, so overrated.” The role, for those keeping score, went to Jonathan Pryce. Cox walked away. He has no regrets.
This isn’t new territory — Cox has been lobbing this particular grenade at Depp for years — but he’s clearly not done throwing it.
Margot Robbie: Too Pretty for Cathy
The freshest target this round is Margot Robbie, who is set to star as Catherine Earnshaw in Emerald Fennell’s new adaptation of Wuthering Heights. Cox is… skeptical.
He mocked Robbie’s Australian accent while riffing on the casting, exclaiming: “‘Keith Cliff! It’s me, Cathy! How ya doing, Keith? Awright?’ ‘Yeah, I’m awright!'”
“Margot Robbie is far too beautiful for that role,” Cox said. “I mean, I think there should be something more of the Gypsy about her but it’s wrong of me to judge. It may be a brilliant film.”
He added that he hasn’t actually seen the film yet. A minor detail, clearly.
Edward Norton, Kevin Spacey, Ian McKellen: A Buffet of Grievances
Cox co-starred with Edward Norton in Spike Lee‘s 25th Hour, and the experience left an impression — just not a good one. He called Norton “a pain in the ase,” writing that “he’s a nice lad but a bit of a pain in the ase because he fancies himself as a writer-director.”
Cox extended his criticism to Kevin Spacey, whom he described as “a stupid, stupid man,” and to his X2 co-star, Ian McKellen, saying the actor’s performances are “not to my taste.”
Roberto Cappello/IPA/INSTARimages
Tarantino, Oldman, and a Director He Really Can’t Stand
The slams didn’t stop at actors. Cox called Quentin Tarantino “meretricious” and dismissed Gary Oldman‘s Oscar-winning Winston Churchill performance in Darkest Hour as “cobblers” and “a crowd-pleasing farrago.”
He also referred to director Michael Caton-Jones as “a complete arsehole” and described playwright David Hare in terms not printable in polite company.
Daniel Day-Lewis Tried to Check Him. It Didn’t Work.
Cox’s ongoing criticism of method acting — including pointed remarks about Succession co-star Jeremy Strong — apparently irked Daniel Day-Lewis, who reportedly told Cox to get off his “soapbox.” Cox’s response to Day-Lewis? Ice cold.
“No, I haven’t reached out because it’s got nothing to do with Dan Day-Lewis,” he said, dismissing the idea of a reconciliation entirely.
At this point, Brian Cox isn’t just Hollywood’s most prolific critic — he’s its most committed one. Nearly 80, freshly directorial, and utterly uninterested in making friends on the way out, he’s proof that there’s a certain freedom that comes with age. Whether Hollywood appreciates the candor is, frankly, no longer his problem.
