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.

Known For

The Simpsons

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Late Night with Seth Meyers

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

The Daily Show

The Graham Norton Show

Real Time with Bill Maher

All Movies (200)

• Super Troopers 32026 · as Capt. John O’Hagan
• The Sunrise File2026 · as Oded Ailam (voice)
• Glenrothan2026 · as Sandy
• The Marbles2025 · as Self - Interviewee
• Raoul Wallenberg: Missing Inaction2025 · as Gustaf Wallenberg (voice)
• The Parenting2025 · as Frank
• AMR: Dying to Change the World2025 · as AMR
• The Electric State2025 · as Popfly (voice)
• The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim2024 · as Helm Hammerhand (voice)
• That Christmas2024 · as Santa (voice)
• Skelly2024 · as Grandpa
• Little Wing2024 · as Jaan Vari
• Bill Douglas: My Best Friend2023 · as Narrator (voice)
• Prisoner's Daughter2023 · as Max
• Mending the Line2023 · as Ike Fletcher
• Quasi2023 · as Narrator (voice)
• An Interview with Brian Cox2023 · as Himself
• Ooh the Banter!2022 · as Self
• Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba2022 · as Self
• Bonnie2022 · as Self
• The Independent2022 · as Nick Booker
• Ukraine: Answering the Call2022 · as Self
• Separation2021 · as Rivers
• Oleg: The Oleg Vidov Story2021 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Bay of Silence2020 · as Milton
• John Rebus: The Lockdown Blues2020 · as John Rebus
• Last Moment of Clarity2020 · as Gilles
• Lawrence After Arabia2020 · as Father (Voice)
• The Last Right2019 · as Father Reilly
• Strange but True2019 · as Bill
• Pretenders2019 · as Henry
• Remember Me2019 · as Shane
• Kubrick by Candlelight2018 · as The Narrator
• Widdershins2018 · as voice
• Super Troopers 22018 · as John O'Hagen
• The Etruscan Smile2018 · as Rory MacNeil
• An Evening with Brian Cox2017 · as Himself
• Bob the Builder: Mega Machines - The Movie2017 · as Conrad / Crunch (voice)
• Churchill2017 · as Winston Churchill
• Vegalta: Soccer, Tsunami and the Hope of a Nation2017 · as Narrator
• Darcey Bussell: My Life on the BBC2016 · as Self
• The Autopsy of Jane Doe2016 · as Tommy Tilden
• Morgan2016 · as Jim Bryce
• The Carer2016 · as Sir Michael
• Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light2016 · as Self
• Killing Thyme2015 · as Norman
• Forsaken2015 · as James McCurdy
• Pacific Warriors2015 · as Narrator
• Pixels2015 · as Admiral Porter
• Andrew Carnegie: Rags to Riches, Power to Peace2015 · as Andrew Carnegie (voice)
• The Gospel of John2014 · as Narrator (voice) – King James Version
• Scotland In A Day2014
• The Anomaly2014 · as Dr. Langham
• Her2013 · as Alan Watts (voice)
• An Adventure in Space and Time2013 · as Sydney Newman
• The Curse of Edgar2013 · as Edgar Hoover
• Anna2013 · as Sebastian
• Believe2013 · as Matt Busby
• Blumenthal2013 · as Harold Blumenthal
• RED 22013 · as Ivan
• Blood2012 · as Lenny Fairburn
• The Campaign2012 · as Raymond
• All at Sea2012 · as Wally
• I Missed My Mother's Funeral2012 · as Old Man
• Exit Humanity2011 · as Malcolm Young (voice)
• Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster2011 · as Glover
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes2011 · as John Landon
• The Veteran2011 · as Gerry
• Ironclad2011 · as Albany
• The Key Man2011 · as Irving
• Coriolanus2011 · as Menenius
• RED2010 · as Ivan Simanov
• On Expenses2010 · as Michael Martin
• As Good As Dead2010 · as Reverend Kalahan
• Fantastic Mr. Fox2009 · as Action 12 Reporter (voice)
• Brian Cox's Jute Journey2009 · as Self
• The Good Heart2009 · as Jacques
• Tell-Tale2009 · as Van Doren
• Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword2009 · as Green Dragon (voice)
• Red2008 · as Avery Ludlow
• The Escapist2008 · as Frank Perry
• Agent Crush2008 · as Spanners (voice)
• The Color of Magic - Die Reise des Zauberers Teil 12008 · as Narrator
• The Color of Magic - Die Reise des Zauberers Teil 22008 · as Narrator
• The Water Horse2007 · as Old Angus
• The Secret of the Nutcracker2007 · as Drosselmeyer
• Shoot on Sight2007 · as Daniel Tennant
• Trick 'r Treat2007 · as Mr. Kreeg
• Battle for Terra2007 · as General Hemmer (voice)
• The Bourne Ultimatum2007 · as Ward Abbott (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited)
• A Woman in Winter2007 · as Dr. Hunt
• Zodiac2007 · as Melvin Belli
• Running with Scissors2006 · as Dr. Finch
• The Outsiders2006 · as Gabriel
• The Flying Scotsman2006 · as Douglas Baxter
• Carry On Ken2006 · as Self
• The Ringer2005 · as Gary Barker
• Match Point2005 · as Alec Hewett
• The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle2005 · as Joseph Bell
• Red Eye2005 · as Joe Reisert
• Hitler in Colour2005 · as Narrator
• Blue/Orange2005 · as Dr. Robert Smith
• Japan's War in Colour2005 · as Self - Narrator (voice)
• Lindsay Anderson: Lucky Man?2004 · as Self
• Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson2004 · as Other Voices (voice)
• The Bourne Supremacy2004 · as Ward Abbott
• Troy2004 · as King Agamemnon
• Murder by Numbers2004 · as Self
• The Reckoning2004 · as Tobias
• The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X22003 · as Self
• The Evolution of an American Filmmaker2003 · as Self
• X22003 · as William Stryker
• Sin2003 · as Captain Oakes
• 25th Hour2002 · as James Brogan
• Adaptation.2002 · as Robert McKee
• Aleister Crowley: The Wickedest Man in the World2002 · as Narrator
• The Ring2002 · as Richard Morgan
• The Trials of Henry Kissinger2002 · as Self
• The Biographer2002 · as Michael O'Mara
• The Bourne Identity2002 · as Ward Abbott
• Loch Lomond: Legend of the Loch2002 · as Narrator
• The Rookie2002 · as Jim Morris Sr.
• Bug2002 · as Cyr
• Rasputin: The Devil in the Flesh2002 · as Narrator
• Smallpox 2002: Silent Weapon2002 · as Narrator
• The Affair of the Necklace2001 · as Minister Breteuil
• L.I.E.2001 · as Big John Harrigan
• Strictly Sinatra2001 · as Chisolm
• Super Troopers2001 · as Captain O'Hagen
• Inside 'Manhunter'2001 · as Himself
• Saltwater2000 · as George Beneventi
• Complicity2000 · as Inspector McDunn
• A Shot at Glory2000 · as Martin Smith
• Mad About Mambo2000 · as Sidney McLoughlin
• The Invention of Dr. Morel2000 · as Dr. Morel
• The Making of 'Rushmore'2000 · as Self
• Longitude2000 · as Lord Morton
• The History of the British Police Force1999 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Minus Man1999 · as Doug
• For Love of the Game1999 · as Gary Wheeler
• The Corruptor1999 · as Sean Wallace
• Rushmore1998 · as Dr. Nelson Guggenheim
• Poodle Springs1998 · as Clayton Blackstone
• Battle of the Clans1998 · as Narrator
• Merchants of Venus1998 · as Uncle Vladimir
• Desperate Measures1998 · as Captain Jeremiah Cassidy
• The Boxer1997 · as Joe Hamill
• Food for Ravens1997 · as Aneurin Bevan
• Sharpe: The Legend1997 · as Hogan
• Kiss the Girls1997 · as Chief Hatfield, Durham PD
• The Long Kiss Goodnight1996 · as Dr. Nathan Waldman
• The Glimmer Man1996 · as Mr. Smith
• Chain Reaction1996 · as Lyman Earl Collier
• Witness Against Hitler1996 · as Judge Freisler
• Braveheart1995 · as Argyle Wallace
• Rob Roy1995 · as Killearn
• The Maltese Double Cross1994 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Negotiator1994 · as Charlie King
• Grushko1994 · as Colonel Yevgeni Grushko
• Prince of Jutland1994 · as Aethelwine
• Iron Will1994 · as Angus McTeague
• Sharpe's Eagle1993 · as Major Michael Hogan
• Sharpe's Rifles1993 · as Major Michael Hogan
• Six Characters in Search of An Author1992 · as The Director
• The Cutter1992
• The Lost Language of Cranes1992 · as Owen Benjamin
• The Cloning of Joanna May1992 · as Carl May
• Deceptions1992 · as Carlton Heard
• Red Fox1991 · as Geoffrey Harrison
• Hidden Agenda1990 · as Peter Kerrigan
• The Making of 'Hidden Agenda'1990 · as self
• Secret Weapon1990 · as Andrew Neil
• Brian Cox on Acting in Tragedy1989 · as Self
• The Blasphemers' Banquet1989 · as Rev. Wallace (voice)
• Murder on the Moon1989 · as Voronov
• Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky1988 · as Voiceover Narrator
• Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun1988 · as Jack Purves
• Shoot for the Sun1987 · as Dunny
• Rat in the Skull1987 · as Detective Inspector Nelson
• Gramsci: Everything that Concerns People1987 · as Narrator
• Home Cooking1986 · as Vic
• Manhunter1986 · as Dr. Hannibal Lecktor
• Florence Nightingale1985 · as Dr. McGregor
• The Cantor of St Thomas's1985 · as Johann Sebastian Bach
• Pope John Paul II1984 · as Father Góra
• King Lear1983 · as Burgundy
• A Cotswold Death1982 · as Dr. Gillespie
• The Privilege1982 · as Young Laird
• Dalhousie's Luck1980 · as Dalhousie
• Clay, Smeddum and Greenden1976 · as George Simpson
• In Celebration1975 · as Steven Shaw
• The Changeling1974 · as Alsemero
• Nicholas and Alexandra1971 · as Trotsky
• The Year of the Sex Olympics1968 · as Lasar Opie
• A Knight in Tarnished Armour1965 · as Nelson
• A Modern Magician— · as The Voice
• The Glove—
• The Planets—
• Wittgenstein's Poker— · as Bertrand Russell (voice)
• Old Pals— · as Jimmy

All TV Shows (101)

• Dexter: Resurrection2025 · as New York Ripper
• VE Day 802025 · as Self
• Unsinkable2024 · as Robert Dodds
• 007: Road to a Million2023 · as The Controller
• Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius2023 · as Self
• Made of Money with Brian Cox2023
• Brian Cox: How The Other Half Live2022 · as Presenter
• Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg2022 · as Self – Actor
• Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg2022 · as Self - Actor
• Remembers…2022
• Piers Morgan Uncensored2022 · as Self
• Blade Runner: Black Lotus2021 · as Niander Wallace Sr. (voice)
• Amol Rajan Interviews2021 · as Self - Interviewed Guest
• Good Omens2019 · as Death (voice)
• Succession2018 · as Logan Roy
• The Russell Howard Hour2017 · as Self
• Carpool Karaoke: The Series2017 · as Self
• Brian Cox's Russia2017 · as Host
• Medici: Masters of Florence2016 · as Bernardo Guadagni
• War and Peace2016 · as Mikhail Kutuzov
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert2015 · as Self - Guest
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert2015 · as Self
• The Slap2015 · as Manolis
• Variety Studio: Actors on Actors2014 · as Self
• The Game2014 · as Daddy
• The Great War: The People's Story2014 · as Rev. Andrew Clark
• Penny Dreadful2014 · as Jared Talbot
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver2014 · as God
• Late Night with Seth Meyers2014 · as Self
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon2014 · as Self
• Shetland2013 · as Magnus Bain
• The Last Leg2013 · as Self
• Bob Servant2013 · as Bob Servant
• Addicted to Pleasure2012 · as Self - Host
• A Touch of Cloth2012 · as Bill Ball
• Tooned2012 · as The Mechanic
• The Straits2012 · as Harry Montebello
• Celebrity Antiques Road Trip2011 · as Self - Participant
• The Jonathan Ross Show2011 · as Self
• The Jonathan Ross Show2011 · as Self - Guest
• The Sinking of the Laconia2011 · as Captain Sharp
• The Day of the Triffids2009 · as Dennis Masen
• The Take2009 · as Ozzy
• Kings2009 · as King Vesper Abaddon
• The Colour of Magic2008 · as Narrator
• The Graham Norton Show2007 · as Self
• M.I. High2007 · as Voice of the Mastermind
• The One Show2006 · as Self - Guest
• The Colbert Report2005
• The Tony Danza Show2004 · as Self
• Deadwood2004 · as Jack Langrishe
• One Life2003
• Real Time with Bill Maher2003 · as Self
• Jimmy Kimmel Live!2003 · as Self - Guest
• Top Gear2002 · as Self
• Masters of Darkness2002 · as Narrator
• Richard & Judy2001 · as Self
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force2000 · as Anubis (voice)
• Nuremberg2000 · as Herman Wilhelm Goering
• Longitude2000 · as Lord Morton
• I, Caesar – The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire1997 · as Narrator
• Superman: The Animated Series1996 · as Dr. Earl Garver (voice)
• The Daily Show1996 · as Self
• Frasier1993 · as Harry Moon
• Sharpe1993 · as Major Hogan
• The Big Battalions1992 · as Edward Hoyland
• Shakespeare: The Animated Tales1992 · as Macbeth (voice)
• The Cloning of Joanna May1992 · as Carl May
• Performance1991 · as The Director
• Have I Got News for You1990 · as Self
• Perfect Scoundrels1990 · as Father Amedy
• The Simpsons1989 · as Kostas Becker (voice)
• LIVE with Kelly and Mark1988 · as Self - Guest
• Red Dwarf1988 · as The King
• The Modern World: Ten Great Writers1988 · as Henrik Ibsen (voice)
• Acting1987
• French & Saunders1987 · as King Lear
• Inspector Morse1987 · as Michael Steppings
• Unnatural Causes1986 · as Vic
• House on the Hill1981 · as Leon Douglas
• Hammer House of Horror1980 · as Chuck
• Therese Raquin1980 · as Laurent LeClaire
• Minder1979 · as Frank
• Question Time1979 · as Self - Panellist
• Out1978 · as McGrath
• The Devil's Crown1978 · as Henry II
• Target1977 · as Billy Voss
• Shades of Greene1975 · as Harry
• Churchill's People1974 · as William Wallace
• Playhouse1974 · as Dalhousie
• Van der Valk1972 · as Stefan Szabo
• Great Performances1971 · as Self - Narration (voice)
• Play for Today1970 · as Dr. Gillespie
• Manhunt1970 · as Anton
• The Gamblers1967 · as Mickey
• ITV Playhouse1967 · as Apeman
• BBC Play of the Month1965 · as Alsemero
• Thirty-Minute Theatre1965 · as Josef Stalin
• The Wednesday Play1964 · as Nelson
• Theatre 6251964 · as Lasar Opie
• Have I Got a Bit More News for You— · as Himself - Panellist