This weekend, We will see the beginning of the end of Logan Roy.
The HBO series succession will kick off its fourth and final season
on Sunday. The show's leading man, Brian Cox, was here in Dubai recently
in the remote his book, putting the Rabbit in the Hat, and in it,
he writes, quote I would challenge oceans in pursuit of the reason
why, Why be an actor?
And on occasion, he said, I would get severely drenched. But after
decades of mostly supporting roles or smaller projects, it is his
workers. Logan Roy in succession that is vaulted Cox into the A list
spotlight, complete with multiple Golden Globe and Emmy nominations
when I sat down with him for
A wide ranging conversation from what it is like to play Logan Roy
in that award winning
TV series to growing up in the Scottish town.
Of Dundee.
Everything I tried to do. People turn against me.
100 FT. Tall, You've said it can be almost distressingly easy to
play Logan Roy your character in the HBO series succession. You said
If Logan met me, he wouldn't stand me for two minutes. Just explain
where we're at with Logan, Roy Logan. This amount of very few words,
and I am not a man of very few words that I use for as you can witness
in them. Now, I used far too many words.
Which is not always happy.
But it's also because you know, I'm in love with language. Logan
is, um, isn't throw up his
He's a really unhappy man.
Ah, his problem. This would be much easier if he didn't love his
Children. That's his problem. That's his Achilles heel if he loves
his Children, so that's always been the difficulty of dealing with
these Children who are
And it's again. It's a satire. It's It's such a reflection of our
life at the moment that sense of entitlement that those kids have
no blogging doesn't feel that because for Logan and this is what's
so important and people going and competitive, which, like in there,
like the
The Murdochs are like the trump sort of like the black family and
you go the big difference between Logan and all those guys is he
self made. He didn't inherit anything. It all came from nothing and
it came through disillusion. And so I see. His background is one
of
Men, tremendous disillusion, but we consider at least a call. Was
he apologizing?
Did he ask if you were to call then I guess we would see
I don't think you're gonna tell me what's going to happen in serious
for everybody wants to know. So what happens to Brian Cox in series
four? Oh, I go on, you know, just continue on in my
And my misanthropic self
have you beat
Dealing with the fallout of Episode three when I told them to make
their own
Pile as well as my last instruction. Normally the
but I do say make your own Evan pile, so that's where we've got,
and there's a lot of ramifications from that, and season four will
deal with those ramifications, and that's all I can say on that subject.
Because I have signed endless
going to love it. I think you will love it. I think you will love
it. I think you know, I think it's going to be extremely surprising
and probably quite excited
position.
Cut throat.
Are you loving it?
I've always loved it and let's face it. I'm playing a leading role
in the best series in television. I mean, it doesn't get better than
that. I mean, why What's there Not to love, You know, I mean, it's
been a great opportunity for me and my age, You know, I mean, I've
been and when people used to say, you know, Brian all over the long
haul for you. They used to say that that was the older It's going
to be the long JOOB.
I didn't know I was going to be this long
born and brought up.
In the tough working class environment of what was then Dundee continues
to be a fantastic but tough city. How did you
Get out of Dundee.
And get into the acting. Which, of course, took you down to London
as a youngster. I just think I was very blessed in the sense I write
from Channel two.
I had a vision clearly of what I wanted to do. I didn't know what
it was, but I remember it was to do with remember New Year Hogmanay
when we all used to get together. My father was a great you know,
he was a quiet man, but he created a sort of social center for people
to come to, and particularly in New Year they're all come in. And
songs will be sung and my sister may who's a tremendous singer would
sing one o'clock in the morning.
And I just remember the feeling in the room. I remember how the room
transformed. There was this kind of harmony and it never left me
And I thought, What is that? And then? Of course, when I
Fallen over that and and going to the cinema and seeing what was
going on in the sentiment. I thought this is what I want to do. It
was a kind of I mean, in that I got that sensation from the age of
43 or four. Spiky, opinionated and inspiring. That is how your memoir
has been described by one reviewer. What was the first spiky, spiky,
opinionated
And inspiring sounds like me
about the inspiring but sadly spanking and opinionated. I did wonder
whether that was a fair description of the character that is, Brian
Cox explains. Spiking and I am
Over the years, I have become quite opinionated, especially the state
of the
The dreadful state of our world at the moment, which is
can only give way to opinion. Quite frankly, I do want to start with
the inspiring because the memoir
The Rabbit in the Hat has
Being a real inspiration for people. What inspired you to write it,
Brian? Well, my thing was my parents.
That was the most important. That was really the initial motivator
because, you know, my parents had a rough time.
Both of them. My dad died far too young. He was 51.
He died within three weeks of his diagnosis, and he left us with
a pile of poop.
You know, which was not altogether his fault because he was in the
middle of something and he died and he left nothing in the bank and
the businesses all finally
Cup and my problem AAA, who had been on my dad for years and years
and years about his
Because it was very charitable. My father he was a sort of a menu
inserts for the whole community and did amazing stuff. I mean, really
amazing stuff.
I mean, I remember we he organized in our back green he organized
in 1953 Coronation party. God knows why. I mean, looking back at
it. Now it's
pointless venture, but he created the sense of community.
And it was sad for me going back to the recently because of that
sense of community.
Has gone, you know, And it's become so depersonalized now
when I was a kid, we all have our names on the front door. So every
family the Robbie is the Brodie's. No. I mean, people have become
so battered over the over the years that they have their sense of
identity has been taken away from them.
And I think it's something that you know when I was doing this program
about poverty.
The main thing that people had the terrible thing about food banks,
for example, is it takes away dignity.
Human beings need require a little bit of dignity, a little bit of
sense of who they are, and that they have some purpose. You take
that away and you really defeat people. Let me ask at this point.
What do you make of British and more specifically Scottish politics?
Well, today, I'm hopeful that we will get through it. And I'm hopeful
we will get under pendants, but I don't just see it in terms of independence
of Scotland.
I see. It's also independence of England, because I think England
has as many problems if not more problems because certainly the North
has always been treated like the poor relation, but I'd like to see
The disbandment of the United Kingdom and have a united federation.
So where we're all on equal footing with one another. So we share
because we you can't you can look at you Look at the map and you
look at the islands we are. We are a tight knit community, but we
need much more equity in that.
And that's what I'm that's what I'm hoping for. That's what I hope