
Brian Cox
Biography
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.
Acting (179 movies)

Braveheart
1995

The Ring
2002

25th Hour
2002

Troy
2004

Poodle Springs
1998

Fantastic Mr. Fox
2009

Zodiac
2007

The Bourne Identity
2002

The Bourne Supremacy
2004

The Independent
2022

Adaptation.
2002

The Good Heart
2009

Rushmore
1998

The Long Kiss Goodnight
1996

The Minus Man
1999

Trick 'r Treat
2007

Running with Scissors
2006

Manhunter
1986

Red Eye
2005

Rob Roy
1995

Iron Will
1994

Complicity
2000

Chain Reaction
1996

Bug
2002

Kiss the Girls
1997

The Corruptor
1999

Desperate Measures
1998

The Reckoning
2004

The Ringer
2005

Red
2008

Tell-Tale
2009

The Glimmer Man
1996

As Good As Dead
2010

X2
2003

The Rookie
2002

The Escapist
2008

Mad About Mambo
2000

The Flying Scotsman
2006

An Interview with Brian Cox
2023

Brian Cox on Acting in Tragedy
1989

Ironclad
2011

Nicholas and Alexandra
1971

Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword
2009

Battle for Terra
2007

RED
2010

The Boxer
1997

Quasi
2023

Hidden Agenda
1990

King Lear
1983

Super Troopers
2001

Japan's War in Colour
2005

The Maltese Double Cross
1994

L.I.E.
2001

Prince of Jutland
1994

Longitude
2000

The Affair of the Necklace
2001

Sharpe's Eagle
1993

Sharpe's Rifles
1993

The Veteran
2011

The Secret of the Nutcracker
2007

The Water Horse
2007

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
1988

The Lost Language of Cranes
1992

Brian Cox's Jute Journey
2009

The Blasphemers' Banquet
1989

The Campaign
2012

Coriolanus
2011

The Key Man
2011

The Parenting
2025

A Woman in Winter
2007

Her
2013

The Privilege
1982

Strictly Sinatra
2001

The Year of the Sex Olympics
1968

Blood
2012

In Celebration
1975

Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba
2022

Witness Against Hitler
1996

The Evolution of an American Filmmaker
2003

The Cloning of Joanna May
1992

Little Wing
2024

An Adventure in Space and Time
2013

On Expenses
2010

The Cutter
1992

Six Characters in Search of An Author
1992

The Curse of Edgar
2013

Hitler in Colour
2005

Anna
2013

Inside 'Manhunter'
2001

Believe
2013

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
2024

RED 2
2013

Match Point
2005

The Changeling
1974

Ukraine: Answering the Call
2022

Deceptions
1992

Pope John Paul II
1984

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
2011

The Electric State
2025

The Anomaly
2014
Directing (1 movie)
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| The Escapist | 2008 | Executive Producer |
| Little Wing | 2024 | Executive Producer |
| Seven Jewish Children | 2025 | Executive Producer |
| Glenrothan | 2025 | Producer |
