The controversial role Brian Cox said was “meant to unsettle”
Brian Cox may be most well known these days as the irascible patriarch Roy Logan in HBO’s phenomenally successful Succession, but his background as the doyen of stage and screen has seen him take on just as many other caustic and downright villainous roles.
Hailing from Dundee, Scotland, Cox made his start in showbiz as a classically-trained actor treading the boards in Shakespeare plays and co-founding the Royal Lyceum Theatre before evolving into what we know him as today: a character actor in TV and cinema. From mob bosses to football managers to corrupt CIA officers and even ancient kings, Cox has shown a full-bodied range in the characters he’s chosen to embody, gifting them a bright sense of humanity.
His onscreen big break came playing the notorious Hannibal Lecter in 1986’s Manhunter. This subtle and grounded performance, in contrast to Anthony Hopkins and Mads Mikkelsen’s versions, was praised by many as “the scariest Hannibal Lecter” to have ever been seen. This tour de force performance was followed by legendary turns as Andrew Neil in 1990’s Secret Weapon and, of course, the heroic Argyle Wallace in 1995’s Braveheart.
But it was his role as ‘Big John’ in 2001’s L.I.E that proved to be the most controversial, a move which he made against the advice of his agent and colleagues. Michael Cuesta’s film centres around the complex relationship between 15-year-old schoolboy Howie, played by a fresh-faced Paul Dano, and Cox’s ‘Big John’ Harrigan, a middle-aged ex-marine.
Howie is grappling with grief following his mother’s death—tragically taken by the “Long Island Expressway”—while also contending with growing feelings for his best friend, Gary. Swirling within this emotional turmoil is the complex relationship that develops between Howie and Big John. Howie learns that Gary hustles older men for money, with Big John being one of his regular clients, further complicating the already tense and uncertain dynamics in Howie’s world.
In an interview with the BBC about what attracted him to the role, Cox said, “Here was a man who had a kind of dark side, which was this pederasty as opposed to paedophilia, but who, in his public life, is very secure. He’s a pillar of society. He’s a very responsible citizen. He’s confident and generous of spirit. What he’s striving for is what everyone strives for – unconditional love”.
This ability to be able to empathise with even the most vilified or heinous of characters is what makes Cox so adept at portraying them; they feel like fully fleshed out human beings as opposed to caricatures. Is Big John a father figure, or does he want something more? The murky mystery proves as revealing about society as it does about Big John himself.
Despite the controversial connection at the heart of the story, Cox stated that he was proud of L.I.E. “It’s a rites-of-passage story that any 15-year-old would identify with. It’s about sexual awakening and whether one is gay or straight,“ he says. “This film is meant to unsettle and, I think, that is what drama at its best does. At its best, it throws questions at you. At its best, it puts things into the ring for debate.”
One thing’s for sure: Cox has never shied away from embodying those we deem unlikable, even now, well into his 70s.
