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    Brian Cox calls out actor after actor in a new profile, says Johnny Depp is 'so overblown, so overrated,' Edward Norton is 'a pain in the arse,' Ian McKellen's acting is 'not to my taste.'
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    Brian Cox calls out actor after actor in a new profile, says Johnny Depp is ‘so overblown, so overrated,’ Edward Norton is ‘a pain in the arse,’ Ian McKellen’s acting is ‘not to my taste.’


    Brian Cox calls out actor after actor in a new profile, says Johnny Depp is ‘so overblown, so overrated,’ Edward Norton is ‘a pain in the arse,’ Ian McKellen’s acting is ‘not to my taste.’

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    1. PlentyDrawer on

      When I was growing up this is how celebrities were. They just called each other out and didn’t gaf. Now with social media and fans ready to lose their minds, people don’t do this anymore. This man is almost 80 and clearly he doesn’t care. 😂

    2. DebateObjective2787 on

      > The work is well paid but unchallenging, repetitive. Cox turned down the role of the governor in the *Pirates of the Caribbean* franchise (Jonathan Pryce played him), relieved not to work alongside Johnny Depp who he thinks is “so overblown, so overrated”.

      >Latterly, that is what Cox has become known for. When the 79-year-old Scot is discussing the thespian craft, all luvvie protocols are suspended. He states his preferences with King Lear-like vigour.

      >Edward Norton? “A pain in the arse.” Kevin Spacey? “A stupid, stupid man.” Ian McKellen’s acting? “Not to my taste.”

      >He can be very decided on writers and directors too: Tarantino (“meretricious”); Michael Caton-Jones (“a complete arsehole”); David Hare (a “see you next Tuesday”).

      >Cox will not hold back if he feels the “work” is being compromised for public taste. In 2017 he played the lead in the biopic *Churchill* while Gary Oldman portrayed the wartime PM in a film called *Darkest Hour* released later the same year. Oldman won a best actor Oscar for his performance. Cox called it “cobblers” and “a crowd-pleasing farrago”.

      >Today Cox will even go “full Dundee” on a film he hasn’t even seen. I know Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon’s 1939 film adaptation of *Wuthering Heights* is a favourite of his and wondered what he made of the new one starring Margot Robbie.
      “ ‘Keith Cliff! It’s me, Cathy!’ ” he declaims suddenly in a cod Australian accent (Robbie was once in the Australian soap *Neighbours*). “‘How ya doing, Keith? Awright?’ ‘Yeah, I’m awright!’ ”
      Cox enjoys a hearty chuckle before composing himself. “Margot Robbie is far too beautiful for that role. I mean, I think there should be something more of the [slur] about her but it’s wrong of me to judge. It may be a brilliant film.”

    3. FlowersByTheStreet on

      I have no strong feelings of Brian Cox, I just think it’s hilarious that every headline about him seemingly shifts public perception of him 180 degrees.

      Is he woke? Is he chud?

      I have no idea, but I genuinely love that he just speaks his mind without giving a shit lol

    5. secretariats on

      >On his no-holds-barred approach to discussing his craft — and others in the industry — Cox admitted he’s too old to care about what people think of him.

      “Well, I don’t know yet if it’s caused me problems,” he said. “I mean, my wife [Nicole Ansari-Cox] keeps saying, ‘Brian, be careful. Brian, be careful.’ I think, ‘F— it, I don’t want to be careful any more! I’ll be 80 this year. F— it! I’m gonna say what I want to say.'”

      The Emmy winner also explained that, even though [Daniel Day-Lewis asked him to call](https://ew.com/daniel-day-lewis-hits-back-at-brian-cox-method-acting-comments-11842538) to discuss his thoughts on method acting (in light of Cox’s 2023 comments [about his *Succession* costar Jeremy Strong](https://ew.com/tv/brian-cox-jeremy-strong-method-acting-succession-annoying/)’s “f—ing annoying” approach), he declined to make contact.

      “No, I haven’t reached out because it’s got nothing to do with Dan Day-Lewis,” he said. “Dan Day-Lewis, he’s discreet. He never upsets it [the filming process]. He’s never, sort of… I don’t want to go on about Jeremy, because I’ve got into a lot of problems and he’s begged me to stop talking about him. He’s a good actor, Jeremy. He’s a wonderful actor. It’s just all the bollocks that goes with it. You watch children — they don’t say, ‘What’s my motivation?’ They just do it!”

      tbh at this point Brian Cox comes off like a real curmudgeon who only ever gives interviews to shit talk (arguably more talented) colleagues, but I do slightly envy that utter lack of caring about what other people think

    7. No_Kangaroo_9826 on

      Doesn’t want to work with Johnny Depp and finds Quentin Tarantino flashy and insincere.

      Can’t argue with that

    9. Silver-Foot-259 on

      Finally some TEA, some PERSONALITEA! People are so media trained and boring these days.. which is probably a good thing

    10. raphaellaskies on

      I love his dedication to hating Depp. As far as I can tell, it’s not ideological or based in any kind of personal beef, he just hates his ass.

    11. theblakesheep on

      Jonathan Pryce was one of the best parts of Pirates, so I’m glad Brian Cox turned it down.

    12. Sharaz_Jek123 on

      Someone forgot to give Brian his meds.

      ![gif](giphy|FzoKlYzmwRkomjOe9J|downsized)

    13. urkermannenkoor on

      Oh yeah? Well, I think some of his astronomy papers were badly constructed. Nuh.

    16. PurpleLion35 on

      Edward Norton is obviously a great actor and seems like a decent dude outside of his job, but yeah from what I can gather it seems like he’d be super annoying to work with. But also Brian Cox seems like the angriest grandpa in the nursing home so I’d imagine he’s no spring picnic either.

    17. RiffRafe2 on

      I’m sure he’s just repeating himself now or The Times is just condensing his greatest hits, along with new bits. LadBible reported on the article, writing Cox called Edward Norton a pain in the ass because he fancies himself as a writer-director. Cox said that list bit in a 2022 Vanity Fair article, but just calls Norton a “a pain in the arse” in the new Times piece.

      The bits about Depp were also from Cox’s 2022 Vanity Fair article.

      The bit about Kevin Spacey was also mentioned in Cox’s 2025 interview with The Telegraph, where he called Spacey a “great talent” but a stupid man.

    18. Physical-Cod2853 on

      look brian i can get behind slagging off the other two but do NOT come for sir ian

    19. TuberMila on

      I do enjoy old man rants sometimes even if I don’t agree with everything (Love Ian)

      Sorry but every actor could get a “it’s funny!” pass from me if I was able to imagine Logan Roy lashing out, I enjoyed watching that old bastard too much.

    23. TheSheWhoSaidThats on

      Dude’s such a curmudgeonly old windbag. Always up his own ass. Really well cast in Succession. Good actor though. Or just filmed while being himself, not sure.

    24. badlilbishh on

      Lol dude threw media training out the window and said I’m 80 I don’t give a shit anymore. Makes sense.

    25. -this_bitch- on

      Honestly when I get to a certain age I’m just gonna start saying whatever

      ![gif](giphy|XDuJUONwqsLoQAe4hL)

    26. not_productive1 on

      Brian Cox just randomly shit talking everyone else in town for no reason is my current favorite Hollywood running gag.

    28. floppydo on

      If you read this interview as him in the character Langrishe that he plays in the HBO show Deadwood, it works very, very well. 

    38. mangoserpent on

      Brian Cox is a super ham so he has no business calling out Mckellen.

      I was never a Depp fan he always seemed soulless.

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