Brian Cox slams Hollywood's biggest names as 'stupid' in brutal rant

Brian Cox has called out huge film stars, branding them as 'stupid', 'overblown' and 'complete a***holes' in the industry.

The actor, who you may know as Logan Roy on Succession, no longer cares about keeping mum, and has revealed that turning 80 means he can now 'say what he wants.'

Cox has worked alongside some big names in the field, such as Daniel Day Lewis in The Boxer, and once rubbed him the wrong way by dismissing method acting – which Day Lewis is famed for – as ‘American s***’.

But Day Lewis isn’t the only legend he has spoken about, as recently he told The Times UK that the likes of Johnny Depp, Edward Norton, Ian McKellen, Margot Robbie, Quentin Tarantino and more were not up to scratch.

Brian Cox spoke out about Hollywood elites (Photo by Adela Loconte/Variety via Getty Images)

In the interview, which saw him talk about being 80 soon ahead of his June 1 birthday, the acclaimed actor and theatre star revealed that he was thankful he turned down the role of the governor in the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise because he thinks Depp is 'so overblown' and 'so overrated'.

In the end, that role went to Jonathan Pryce.

But he didn’t stop there, as he went on to call Edward Norton 'a pain in the a**e', having worked with him in the 2002 flick, the 25th Hour.

He also called Kevin Spacey 'a stupid, stupid man' after acting with him in the 1994 film, Iron Will, and defending him just last year against scathing comments, calling the pair friends in an interview with The i Paper.

He said Ian McKellen's acting was not to his 'liking' (Photo by Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

He was also vocal about cancel culture after Spacey was accused by multiple men of sexual misconduct in 2017.

The actor also said Ian McKellen's acting was 'not to his taste’, after the two worked together on the theatre production of Richard III and King Lear.

As for Tarantino, Cox called him 'meretricious', and also called Michael Caton-Jones 'a complete a***hole'.

David Hare, a play and screen writer, who Cox worked with Skylight in 1997, was called a 'see you next Tuesday' in the interview.

He also called Jeremy Strong's approach to method acting, 'f***ing annoying', so even those he’s known for years don’t get out unscathed.

Telling The Times, Cox lamented that it’s all part of his aging process, noting: “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.'”

That includes critiquing Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights adaptation, starring Robbie and Jacob Elordi.

He went all in on Edward Norton (Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator)

However, he wasn’t too harsh on her in comparison with the above.

Instead, he mocked her Aussie accent, putting on an accent and shouting: “‘Keith Cliff! It’s me, Cathy!’”

He went on to say: “‘How ya doing, Keith? Awright?’ ‘Yeah, I’m awright!’”

Cox then said Robbie is ‘far too beautiful’ to play Cathy, adding: “I mean, I think there should be something more of the Gypsy about her, but it’s wrong of me to judge. It may be a brilliant film.”

UNILAD reached out to the representatives of Johnny Depp, Edward Norton, Margot Robbie, Kevin Spacey, Quentin Tarantino, Ian McKellen, David Hare, Jeremy Strong, Michael Caton-Jones, and Brian Cox for comment.