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Brian Cox, nearly 80, told The Times<\/em> he\u2019s done holding back, unloading fresh criticism on Margot Robbie, and doubling down on past slams of Johnny Depp and Edward Norton.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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\nCox mocked Robbie\u2019s casting in Wuthering Heights<\/em>, called Depp \u201coverblown and overrated,\u201d labeled Norton \u201ca pain in the arse,\u201d and torched Quentin Tarantino and Gary Oldman along the way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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\nThe Succession<\/em> star dismissed concerns from his wife and even Daniel Day-Lewis, declaring: \u201cF\u2013k it! I\u2019m gonna say what I want to say.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Brian Cox<\/a> has never been shy about his opinions. But somewhere between Succession<\/em> wrapping and his upcoming 80th birthday, the Scottish actor has apparently decided that the filter is fully, officially, irrevocably off.<\/p>\n
In a new profile with The Times<\/em> UK<\/a> \u2014 timed to promote his directorial debut Glenrothan<\/em> \u2014 Cox dragged a remarkable roster of Hollywood names through the mud with the cheerful energy of a man who has genuinely stopped caring what anyone thinks.<\/p>\n
When asked whether his relentless commentary on fellow stars has cost him anything, Cox was refreshingly unbothered. \u201cI mean, my wife [Nicole Ansari-Cox] keeps saying, \u2018Brian, be careful. Brian, be careful.\u2019 I think, \u2018F\u2013k it, I don\u2019t want to be careful anymore! I\u2019ll be 80 this year. F\u2014k it! I\u2019m gonna say what I want to say,’\u201d he told the outlet.<\/p>\n
And say it he did.<\/p>\n
\n \n<\/div>
\n January 05, 2020: Brian Cox in the press room at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel \u2014 Photo by Featureflash\/depositphotos.com<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
Johnny Depp: Still Overrated, Apparently<\/h2>\n
Cox revealed that he declined to play the governor in the Pirates of the Caribbean<\/em> franchise because he didn\u2019t want to work with Johnny Depp<\/a>, whom he called \u201cso overblown, so overrated.\u201d The role, for those keeping score, went to Jonathan Pryce<\/strong>. Cox walked away. He has no regrets.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t new territory \u2014 Cox has been lobbing this particular grenade at Depp for years \u2014 but he\u2019s clearly not done throwing it.<\/p>\n
Margot Robbie: Too Pretty for Cathy<\/h2>\n
The freshest target this round is Margot Robbie<\/a>, who is set to star as Catherine Earnshaw in Emerald Fennell\u2019s new adaptation of Wuthering Heights<\/em>. Cox is\u2026 skeptical.<\/p>\n
He mocked Robbie\u2019s Australian accent while riffing on the casting, exclaiming: \u201c\u2018Keith Cliff! It\u2019s me, Cathy! How ya doing, Keith? Awright?\u2019 \u2018Yeah, I\u2019m awright!’\u201d<\/p>\n
\n \n<\/div>
\n Margot Robbie at the \u2018Wuthering Heights\u2019 World Premiere at the TCL Chinese Theater IMAX on January 28, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA \u2014 Photo by JeanNelson\/depositphotos.com<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\u201cMargot Robbie is far too beautiful for that role,\u201d Cox said. \u201cI mean, I think there should be something more of the Gypsy about her but it\u2019s wrong of me to judge. It may be a brilliant film.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that he hasn\u2019t actually seen the film yet. A minor detail, clearly.<\/p>\n
Edward Norton, Kevin Spacey, Ian McKellen: A Buffet of Grievances<\/h2>\n
Cox co-starred with Edward Norton<\/a> in Spike Lee<\/strong>\u2018s 25th Hour<\/em>, and the experience left an impression \u2014 just not a good one. He called Norton \u201ca pain in the ase,\u201d writing that \u201che\u2019s a nice lad but a bit of a pain in the a<\/em>se because he fancies himself as a writer-director.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cox extended his criticism to Kevin Spacey<\/a>, whom he described as \u201ca stupid, stupid man,\u201d and to his X2<\/em> co-star, Ian McKellen<\/a>, saying the actor\u2019s performances are \u201cnot to my taste.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n \n<\/div>
\n Kevin Spacey photocall at the San Micheletto complex on September 21, 2025. Photo Credit: Roberto Cappello\/IPA\/INSTARimages<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
Tarantino, Oldman, and a Director He Really Can\u2019t Stand<\/h2>\n
The slams didn\u2019t stop at actors. Cox called Quentin Tarantino<\/a> \u201cmeretricious\u201d and dismissed Gary Oldman<\/a>\u2018s Oscar-winning Winston Churchill performance in Darkest Hour<\/em> as \u201ccobblers\u201d and \u201ca crowd-pleasing farrago.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also referred to director Michael Caton-Jones<\/strong> as \u201ca complete arsehole\u201d and described playwright David Hare<\/strong> in terms not printable in polite company.<\/p>\n
Daniel Day-Lewis Tried to Check Him. It Didn\u2019t Work.<\/h2>\n
Cox\u2019s ongoing criticism of method acting \u2014 including pointed remarks about Succession<\/em> co-star Jeremy Strong<\/a> \u2014 apparently irked Daniel Day-Lewis<\/a>, who reportedly told Cox to get off his \u201csoapbox.\u201d Cox\u2019s response to Day-Lewis? Ice cold.<\/p>\n
\n \n<\/div>
\n Jeremy Strong, J. Smith-Cameron, Scott Ferguson, Brian Cox, Nicholas Braun and Kieran Culkin pose in the press room after receiving the Best Drama Series award for \u2018Succession\u2019 at the 27th Annual Critics\u2019 Choice Awards \u2014 Photo by Xavier Collin\/Image Press Agency\/depositphotos.com<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
\u201cNo, I haven\u2019t reached out because it\u2019s got nothing to do with Dan Day-Lewis,\u201d he said, dismissing the idea of a reconciliation entirely.<\/p>\n
At this point, Brian Cox isn\u2019t just Hollywood\u2019s most prolific critic \u2014 he\u2019s its most committed one. Nearly 80, freshly directorial, and utterly uninterested in making friends on the way out, he\u2019s proof that there\u2019s a certain freedom that comes with age. Whether Hollywood appreciates the candor is, frankly, no longer his problem.<\/p>\n
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\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n
\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.aol.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brian Cox, nearly 80, told The Times he\u2019s done holding back, unloading fresh criticism on Margot Robbie, and doubling down on past slams of Johnny Depp and Edward Norton. Cox mocked Robbie\u2019s casting in Wuthering Heights, called Depp \u201coverblown and overrated,\u201d labeled Norton \u201ca pain in the arse,\u201d and torched Quentin Tarantino and Gary Oldman […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2359468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25177],"tags":[305970,321120,313278,348823,309290,375351,310836,318878,458143,340957],"class_list":["post-2359467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","tag-brian","tag-daniel-day-lewis","tag-edward-norton","tag-gary-oldman","tag-johnny-depp","tag-kevin-spacey","tag-margot-robbie","tag-quentin-tarantino","tag-the-succession","tag-wuthering-heights"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Brian-Coxs-Hollywood-Hit-List-Grows-as-He-Slams-Johnny.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2359467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2359467"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2359467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2359469,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2359467\/revisions\/2359469"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2359468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2359467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2359467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2359467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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