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.

Filmography

• 2026Glenrothan — Sandy, Director, Producer
• 2026Super Troopers 3 — Captain O’Hagan
• 2026The Sunrise File — Oded Ailam (voice)
• 2025AMR: Dying to Change the World — AMR
• Dexter: Resurrection — The New York Ripper
• 2025Raoul Wallenberg: Missing Inaction — Gustaf Wallenberg (voice)
• 2025Seven Jewish Children — Executive Producer
• 2025The Electric State — Popfly (voice)
• 2025The Parenting — Frank
• 2024Little Wing — Jaan Vari, Executive Producer
• 2024Skelly — Grandpa
• 2024That Christmas — Santa (voice)
• 2024The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim — Helm Hammerhand (voice)
• Unsinkable — Robert Dodds
• 007: Road to a Million — The Controller
• 2023Bill Douglas: My Best Friend — Narrator (voice)
• Made of Money with Brian Cox
• 2023Mending the Line — Ike Fletcher
• 2023Prisoner's Daughter — Max
• 2023Quasi — Narrator (voice)
• Brian Cox: How The Other Half Live — Presenter
• Remembers…
• 2022The Independent — Nick Booker
• Blade Runner: Black Lotus — Niander Wallace Sr. (voice)
• 2021Oleg: The Oleg Vidov Story — Narrator (voice)
• 2021Separation — Rivers
• 2020John Rebus: The Lockdown Blues — John Rebus
• 2020Last Moment of Clarity — Gilles
• 2020Lawrence After Arabia — Father (Voice)
• 2020The Bay of Silence — Milton
• Good Omens — Death (voice)
• 2019Pretenders — Henry
• 2019Remember Me — Shane
• 2019Strange but True — Bill
• 2019The Last Right — Father Reilly
• 2018Kubrick by Candlelight — The Narrator
• Succession — Logan Roy
• 2018Super Troopers 2 — Captain O'Hagan
• 2018The Etruscan Smile — Rory MacNeil
• 2018Widdershins — voice
• 2017Bob the Builder: Mega Machines — Conrad / Crunch (voice)
• Brian Cox's Russia — Host
• 2017Churchill — Winston Churchill
• 2017Vegalta: Soccer, Tsunami and the Hope of a Nation — Narrator
• Medici: Masters of Florence — Bernardo Guadagni
• 2016Morgan — Jim Bryce
• 2016The Autopsy of Jane Doe — Tommy Tilden
• 2016The Carer — Sir Michael
• War and Peace — Mikhail Kutuzov
• 2015Andrew Carnegie: Rags to Riches, Power to Peace — Andrew Carnegie (voice)
• 2015Forsaken — James McCurdy
• 2015Killing Thyme — Norman
• 2015Pacific Warriors — Narrator
• 2015Pixels — Admiral Porter
• The Slap — Manolis
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver — God
• Penny Dreadful — Jared Talbot
• 2014Scotland In A Day
• 2014The Anomaly — Dr. Langham
• The Game — Daddy
• 2014The Gospel of John — Narrator (voice) – King James Version
• The Great War: The People's Story — Rev. Andrew Clark
• 2013An Adventure in Space and Time — Sydney Newman
• 2013Anna — Sebastian
• 2013Believe — Matt Busby
• 2013Blumenthal — Harold Blumenthal
• Bob Servant — Bob Servant
• 2013Her — Alan Watts (voice)
• 2013RED 2 — Ivan
• Shetland — Magnus Bain
• 2013The Curse of Edgar — Edgar Hoover
• A Touch of Cloth — Bill Ball
• 2012All at Sea — Wally
• 2012Blood — Lenny Fairburn
• 2012I Missed My Mother's Funeral — Old Man
• 2012The Campaign — Raymond
• The Straits — Harry Montebello
• Tooned — The Mechanic
• 2011Coriolanus — Menenius
• 2011Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster — Glover
• 2011Exit Humanity — Malcolm Young (voice)
• 2011Ironclad — Albany
• 2011Rise of the Planet of the Apes — John Landon
• 2011The Key Man — Irving
• The Sinking of the Laconia — Captain Sharp
• 2011The Veteran — Gerry
• 2010As Good As Dead — Reverand Kalahan
• 2010On Expenses — Michael Martin
• 2010RED — Ivan Simanov
• 2010The Color of Magic 2in1 — Vypravěč
• 2009Fantastic Mr. Fox — Action 12 Reporter (voice)
• Kings — King Vesper Abaddon
• 2009Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword — Green Dragon (voice)
• 2009Tell-Tale — Van Doren
• The Day of the Triffids — Dennis Masen
• 2009The Good Heart — Jacques
• The Take — Ozzy
• 2008Agent Crush — Spanners (voice)
• 2008Red — Avery Ludlow, Associate Producer
• 2008The Color of Magic - Die Reise des Zauberers Teil 1 — Narrator
• 2008The Color of Magic - Die Reise des Zauberers Teil 2 — Narrator
• The Colour of Magic — Narrator
• 2008The Escapist — Frank Perry, Executive Producer
• 2007A Woman in Winter — Dr. Hunt
• 2007Battle for Terra — General Hemmer (voice)
• M.I. High — Voice of the Mastermind
• 2007Shoot on Sight — Daniel Tennant
• 2007The Bourne Ultimatum — Ward Abbott (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited)
• 2007The Secret of the Nutcracker — Drosselmeyer
• 2007The Water Horse — Old Angus
• 2007Trick 'r Treat — Mr. Kreeg
• 2007Zodiac — Melvin Belli
• 2006Running with Scissors — Dr. Finch
• 2006The Flying Scotsman — Douglas Baxter
• 2006The Outsiders — Gabriel
• 2005Blue/Orange — Dr. Robert Smith
• 2005Hitler in Colour — Narrator
• 2005Match Point — Alec Hewett
• 2005Red Eye — Joe Reisert
• The Colbert Report
• 2005The Ringer — Gary Barker
• 2005The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle — Joseph Bell
• Agatha Christie's Marple — Lewis Serrocold
• Deadwood — Jack Langrishe
• 2004The Bourne Supremacy — Ward Abbott
• 2004The Reckoning — Tobias
• 2004Troy — Agamemnon
• 2004Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson — Other Voices (voice)
• One Life
• 2003Sin — Captain Oakes
• 2003X2 — William Stryker
• 200225th Hour — James Brogan
• 2002Adaptation. — Robert McKee
• 2002Aleister Crowley: The Wickedest Man in the World — Narrator
• 2002Bug — Cyr
• 2002Loch Lomond: Legend of the Loch — Narrator
• Masters of Darkness — Narrator
• 2002Rasputin: The Devil in the Flesh — Narrator
• 2002Smallpox 2002: Silent Weapon — Narrator
• 2002The Biographer — Michael O'Mara
• 2002The Bourne Identity — Ward Abbott
• 2002The Ring — Richard Morgan
• 2002The Rookie — Jim Morris Sr.
• 2001L.I.E. — Big John Harrigan
• 2001Strictly Sinatra — Chisolm
• 2001Super Troopers — Captain O'Hagen
• 2001The Affair of the Necklace — Minister Breteuil
• 2000A Shot at Glory — Martin Smith
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force — Anubis (voice)
• 2000Complicity — Inspector McDunn
• 2000Longitude — Lord Morton
• Longitude — Lord Morton
• 2000Mad About Mambo — Sidney McLoughlin
• Nuremberg — Herman Wilhelm Goering
• 2000Saltwater — George Beneventi
• 2000The Invention of Dr. Morel — Dr. Morel
• 1999For Love of the Game — Gary Wheeler
• 1999The Corruptor — Sean Wallace
• 1999The History of the British Police Force — Narrator (voice)
• 1999The Minus Man — Doug
• 1998Battle of the Clans — Narrator
• 1998Desperate Measures — Captain Jeremiah Cassidy
• 1998Merchants of Venus — Uncle Vladimir
• 1998Poodle Springs — Clayton Blackstone
• 1998Rushmore — Dr. Nelson Guggenheim
• 1997Food for Ravens — Aneurin Bevan
• I, Caesar – The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire — Narrator
• 1997Kiss the Girls — Chief Hatfield, Durham PD
• Oz — Director
• 1997Sharpe: The Legend — Hogan
• 1997The Boxer — Joe Hamill
• 1996Chain Reaction — Lyman Earl Collier
• Superman: The Animated Series — Dr. Earl Garver (voice)
• 1996The Glimmer Man — Mr. Smith
• 1996The Long Kiss Goodnight — Dr. Nathan Waldman
• 1996Witness Against Hitler — Judge Freisler
• 1995Braveheart — Argyle Wallace
• 1995Rob Roy — Killearn
• 1994Grushko — Colonel Yevgeni Grushko
• 1994Iron Will — Angus McTeague
• 1994Prince of Jutland — Aethelwine
• 1994The Maltese Double Cross — Narrator (voice)
• 1994The Negotiator — Charlie King
• Frasier — Harry Moon
• Sharpe — Major Hogan
• 1993Sharpe's Eagle — Major Michael Hogan
• 1993Sharpe's Rifles — Major Michael Hogan
• 1992Deceptions — Carlton Heard
• Shakespeare: The Animated Tales — Macbeth (voice)
• 1992Six Characters in Search of An Author — The Director
• The Big Battalions — Edward Hoyland
• The Cloning of Joanna May — Carl May
• 1992The Cutter
• 1992The Lost Language of Cranes — Owen Benjamin
• Performance — The Director
• 1991Red Fox — Geoffrey Harrison
• 1990Hidden Agenda — Peter Kerrigan
• Perfect Scoundrels — Father Amedy
• 1990Secret Weapon — Andrew Neil
• 1989Murder on the Moon — Voronov
• 1989The Blasphemers' Banquet — Rev. Wallace (voice)
• The Simpsons — Kostas Becker (voice)
• 1988Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun — Jack Purves
• 1988Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky — Voiceover Narrator
• Red Dwarf — The King
• The Modern World: Ten Great Writers — Henrik Ibsen (voice)
• Acting
• French & Saunders — King Lear
• 1987Gramsci: Everything that Concerns People — Narrator
• Inspector Morse — Michael Steppings
• 1987Rat in the Skull — Detective Inspector Nelson
• 1987Shoot for the Sun — Dunny
• 1986Home Cooking — Vic
• 1986Manhunter — Dr. Hannibal Lecktor
• Unnatural Causes — Vic
• 1985Florence Nightingale — Dr. McGregor
• 1985The Cantor of St Thomas's — Johann Sebastian Bach
• 1984Pope John Paul II — Father Góra
• 1983King Lear — Burgundy
• 1982A Cotswold Death — Dr. Gillespie
• 1982The Privilege — Young Laird
• House on the Hill — Leon Douglas
• 1980Dalhousie's Luck — Dalhousie
• Hammer House of Horror — Chuck
• Therese Raquin — Laurent LeClaire
• Minder — Frank
• Out — McGrath
• The Devil's Crown — Henry II
• Target — Billy Voss
• 1976Clay, Smeddum and Greenden — George Simpson
• 1975In Celebration — Steven Shaw
• Shades of Greene — Harry
• The Master of Ballantrae — Henry Durie
• Churchill's People — William Wallace
• Playhouse — Dalhousie
• 1974The Changeling — Alsemero
• Van der Valk — Stefan Szabo
• 1971Nicholas and Alexandra — Trotsky
• Stage 2 — Hastings
• Manhunt — Anton
• Play for Today — Dr. Gillespie
• 1968The Year of the Sex Olympics — Lasar Opie
• ITV Playhouse — Apeman
• The Gamblers — Mickey
• 1965A Knight in Tarnished Armour — Nelson
• BBC Play of the Month — Alsemero
• Thirty-Minute Theatre — Josef Stalin, Rod
• The Wednesday Play — Nelson
• Theatre 625 — Lasar Opie
• A Modern Magician — The Voice
• Old Pals — Jimmy
• Super Troopers 4 — Captain O'Hagan
• The Glove
• The Planets
• Wittgenstein's Poker — Bertrand Russell (voice)

Appearances as themselves (49)

• 2025The Marbles — Self - Interviewee
• VE Day 80 — Self
• 2023An Interview with Brian Cox — Himself
• Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius — Self
• 2022Bonnie — Self
• 2022Ooh the Banter! — Self
• 2022Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba — Self
• Piers Morgan Uncensored — Self
• Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg — Self – Actor, Self - Actor
• 2022Ukraine: Answering the Call — Self
• Amol Rajan Interviews — Self - Interviewed Guest
• 2017An Evening with Brian Cox — Himself
• Carpool Karaoke: The Series — Self
• The Russell Howard Hour — Self
• 2016Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light — Self
• 2016Darcey Bussell: My Life on the BBC — Self
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — Self - Guest
• Late Night with Seth Meyers — Self
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon — Self
• Variety Studio: Actors on Actors — Self
• The Last Leg — Self
• Addicted to Pleasure — Self - Host
• Celebrity Antiques Road Trip — Self - Participant
• The Jonathan Ross Show — Self, Self - Guest
• 2009Brian Cox's Jute Journey — Self
• The Graham Norton Show — Self
• 2006Carry On Ken — Self
• The One Show — Self - Guest
• 2005Japan's War in Colour — Self - Narrator (voice)
• 2004Lindsay Anderson: Lucky Man? — Self
• 2004Murder by Numbers — Self
• The Tony Danza Show — Self
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! — Self - Guest
• Real Time with Bill Maher — Self
• 2003The Evolution of an American Filmmaker — Self
• 2003The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2 — Self
• 2002The Trials of Henry Kissinger — Self
• Top Gear — Self
• 2001Inside 'Manhunter' — Himself
• Richard & Judy — Self
• 2000The Making of 'Rushmore' — Self
• The Daily Show — Self
• Have I Got News for You — Self
• 1990The Making of 'Hidden Agenda' — self
• 1989Brian Cox on Acting in Tragedy — Self
• LIVE with Kelly and Mark — Self - Guest
• Question Time — Self - Panellist
• Great Performances — Self - Narration (voice)
• Have I Got a Bit More News for You — Himself - Panellist