Highest rated as cast or director
Brian Cox's 22 titles from the 2000s have a median Balasaur Score of 68, led by The Bourne Identity (77) and The Bourne Supremacy (76), against 62 for those from the 1990s.
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.
Acted in 216
2020s
- 2026
The Sunrise File
Oded Ailam (voice)
- 2025
Raoul Wallenberg: Missing Inaction
Gustaf Wallenberg (voice)
- 2024
Unsinkable
Robert Dodds · 11 episodes
- 2023
007: Road to a Million
The Controller · 16 episodes
Made of Money with Brian Cox
TV
- 2022
- 2021
- 2020
John Rebus: The Lockdown Blues
John Rebus
2010s
- 2019
The Last Right
Father Reilly
- 2018
Kubrick by Candlelight
The Narrator
- 2017
- 2016
The Carer
Sir Michael
- 2015
Killing Thyme
Norman
Andrew Carnegie: Rags to Riches, Power to Peace
Andrew Carnegie (voice)
- 2014
- 2013
An Adventure in Space and Time
Sydney Newman
The Curse of Edgar
Edgar Hoover
Bob Servant
Bob Servant · 9 episodes
- 2012
Tooned
The Mechanic · 8 episodes
All at Sea
Wally
The Straits
Harry Montebello · 10 episodes
- 2011
The Key Man
Irving
- 2010
On Expenses
Michael Martin
2000s
- 2009
The Good Heart
Jacques
The Take
Ozzy · 4 episodes
- 2008
- 2007
The Secret of the Nutcracker
Drosselmeyer
Shoot on Sight
Daniel Tennant
A Woman in Winter
Dr. Hunt
- 2006
- 2005
The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes & Arthur Conan Doyle
Joseph Bell
Blue/Orange
Dr. Robert Smith
- 2004
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
Other Voices (voice)
The Reckoning
Tobias
- 2003
Sin
Captain Oakes
- 2002
The Biographer
Michael O'Mara
Bug
Cyr
- 2001
The Affair of the Necklace
Minister Breteuil
L.I.E.
Big John Harrigan
Strictly Sinatra
Chisolm
- 2000
Saltwater
George Beneventi
Complicity
Inspector McDunn
Mad About Mambo
Sidney McLoughlin
The Invention of Dr. Morel
Dr. Morel
Longitude
Lord Morton
Longitude
Lord Morton · 1 episode
1990s
- 1999
- 1998
Merchants of Venus
Uncle Vladimir
- 1997
Food for Ravens
Aneurin Bevan
Sharpe: The Legend
Hogan
- 1996
Witness Against Hitler
Judge Freisler
- 1995
- 1994
Grushko
Colonel Yevgeni Grushko
- 1993
Sharpe's Eagle
Major Michael Hogan
Sharpe's Rifles
Major Michael Hogan
- 1992
Six Characters in Search of An Author
The Director
The Big Battalions
Edward Hoyland · 5 episodes
The Cutter
Movie
The Lost Language of Cranes
Owen Benjamin
The Cloning of Joanna May
Carl May · 2 episodes
Deceptions
Carlton Heard
- 1991
Red Fox
Geoffrey Harrison
- 1990
Perfect Scoundrels
Father Amedy · 1 episode
Secret Weapon
Andrew Neil
1980s
- 1989
The Blasphemers' Banquet
Rev. Wallace (voice)
Murder on the Moon
Voronov
- 1988
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
Voiceover Narrator
- 1987
Shoot for the Sun
Dunny
- 1986
Unnatural Causes
Vic · 1 episode
Manhunter
Dr. Hannibal Lecktor
- 1985
Florence Nightingale
Dr. McGregor
The Cantor of St Thomas's
Johann Sebastian Bach
- 1984
Pope John Paul II
Father Góra
- 1983
King Lear
Burgundy
- 1982
A Cotswold Death
Dr. Gillespie
The Privilege
Young Laird
- 1981
House on the Hill
Leon Douglas · 1 episode
- 1980
Dalhousie's Luck
Dalhousie
Therese Raquin
Laurent LeClaire · 3 episodes
1970s
- 1979
- 1978
Out
McGrath · 3 episodes
The Devil's Crown
Henry II · 7 episodes
- 1977
- 1976
Clay, Smeddum and Greenden
George Simpson
- 1975
Shades of Greene
Harry · 1 episode
In Celebration
Steven Shaw
- 1974
The Changeling
Alsemero
- 1972
- 1971
- 1970
Manhunt
Anton · 3 episodes
1960s
- 1968
The Year of the Sex Olympics
Lasar Opie
- 1967
- 1965
- 1964
No release date
A Modern Magician
The Voice
The Glove
Movie
The Planets
Movie
Produced 5
2020s
- 2026
- 2025
Seven Jewish Children
Executive Producer
- 2024
2000s
- 2008
Directed 2
2020s
- 2026
1990s
- 1997
Appearances66
2020s
- 2025
The Marbles
Self - Interviewee
VE Day 80
Self · 1 episode
- 2023
Bill Douglas: My Best Friend
Narrator (voice)
An Interview with Brian Cox
Himself
- 2022
Ooh the Banter!
Self
Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba
Self
Ukraine: Answering the Call
Self
Piers Morgan Uncensored
Self · 2 episodes
- 2021
Amol Rajan Interviews
Self - Interviewed Guest · 1 episode
2010s
- 2017
Brian Cox's Russia
Host · 2 episodes
Vegalta: Soccer, Tsunami and the Hope of a Nation
Narrator
- 2016
Darcey Bussell: My Life on the BBC
Self
Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light
Self
- 2015
- 2014
The Gospel of John
Narrator (voice) – King James Version
- 2013
- 2012
Addicted to Pleasure
Self - Host · 4 episodes
- 2011
2000s
- 2009
Brian Cox's Jute Journey
Self
- 2008
The Color of Magic - Die Reise des Zauberers Teil 1
Narrator
The Color of Magic - Die Reise des Zauberers Teil 2
Narrator
- 2007
- 2006
Carry On Ken
Self
- 2005
Hitler in Colour
Narrator
Japan's War in Colour
Self - Narrator (voice)
- 2004
Murder by Numbers
Self
- 2003
The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men! Making X2
Self
The Evolution of an American Filmmaker
Self
- 2002
The Trials of Henry Kissinger
Self
Loch Lomond: Legend of the Loch
Narrator
Rasputin: The Devil in the Flesh
Narrator
Masters of Darkness
Narrator · 1 episode
Smallpox 2002: Silent Weapon
Narrator
- 2001
- 2000
The Making of 'Rushmore'
Self
1990s
- 1998
Battle of the Clans
Narrator
- 1997
I, Caesar – The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire
Narrator · 6 episodes
- 1996
- 1994
The Maltese Double Cross
Narrator (voice)
- 1990
The Making of 'Hidden Agenda'
self
1980s
- 1989
Brian Cox on Acting in Tragedy
Self
- 1988
- 1987
Gramsci: Everything that Concerns People
Narrator
1970s
- 1979
- 1971
