“This isn’t necessarily a good career move”: the taboo-tackling role Brian Cox was confident he could pull off
Actor Brian Cox is most recently celebrated for his triumphantly manipulative and ferocious portrayal of the patriarch of the Roy family in HBO’s Succession. Cox’s performances across Succession’s four-season run show his ability to inhabit a deeply flawed and abusive character—a domineering presence with few redeeming features. Yet his talents make Logan Roy one of the most enjoyable performances of recent years.
Morally devoid characters aren’t unusual for Cox, having played some notorious fictional and historical villains in his 50-year-long career on screen. In 1986, Cox played Hannibal Lecktor in the Michael Mann adaptation of the novel Red Dragon. Cox’s iteration of the serial killer preceded the iconic performance by Anthony Hopkins, and while it’s a version that is more understated and less theatrical, it’s nevertheless chilling.
Cox also portrayed the infamous Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels in Nuremberg, again showing the actor’s chameleon-like ability to portray the manipulative and nefarious with aplomb. His ability to balance complexity, menace and authority has made Cox a sure-fire villain casting for any director who needs one.
For 2001’s L.I.E., Cox admits that his portrayal of a paedophile was “difficult to watch” but also insists that it’s a film that was “ultimately very rewarding”.
L.I.E. follows the story of a 16-year-old boy named Howie, played by Paul Dano in an early role, grappling with the loss of his mother and his relationship with a distant, recently remarried father. Howie becomes embroiled in the company of young men who operate as ‘hustlers’ and the dangerous clients and world they find themselves associated with. Cox plays one of the said clients, a dangerous Vietnam veteran named ‘Big John’: a manipulative predator who Howie’s friend, Gary, has a sordid history with.
Cox says of L.I.E, “It’s not a fetish film or sensation for sensation’s sake”, likening it to the controversial 1997 adaptation of Lolita that explores similar themes of power, abuse and the difficulty that can come with coming-of-age.
A lesser actor would have had trepidation at the potential criticism that a role like ‘Big John’ could attract. Cox revealed that people warned him, “You’re not going to do yourself any favours by taking a part like this.” These warnings wouldn’t put an actor of Cox’s calibre off, however, as he was confident that after his 40 years (at the time) long career, he was more than capable of the challenge. “I’m reasonably good at what I do,” Cox says, continuing to highlight his range of work as an example of why he wasn’t scared to approach a more difficult film like L.I.E.
Perhaps it’s Cox’s lack of time for the psychological preparation side of his craft that allows him to take the risks he does with his roles. “I don’t buy all this identification with roles,” the renowned actor would say, referring to those actors that “submerge themselves in roles”.
These actors, according to Cox, are “covering up for a lack of talent, a lack of real craft”.
