Brian Cox, 78, sets record straight on retirement fears as Succession star addresses on-screen future
Brian Cox has opened up on whether or not he has plans to retire from acting following speculation the Succession star could be calling it a day.
The Scottish actor, 78, is best-known for his role as billionaire tyrant Logan Roy in the comedy-drama series, but in an upcoming TV interview, he shared his true intentions for the future.
When asked if he is hoping to retire from the craft soon, he no doubt reassured his fans when he responded: “I love the job. It’s very satisfying.”
Speaking on The Jonathan Ross Show, which is set to air this weekend on ITV, he continued: “It’s taken me to all kinds of places.
“I don’t want to give it up, it’ll give me up before I give it up. We’re very lucky in our profession.
“We do what we love and there’s not many people who do that. I’m very blessed.”
As he reflected on his time on the show and keeping the final series a secret, Cox stated: “I said that I should be at the funeral because I know the paparazzi are going to want to know who’s funeral it is.
“If I appear they’ll think it’s someone else’s. As soon as I walked out of the car, there were hundreds of paparazzi there taking photographs.”
The actor also went on to share how he credits Laurence Olivier for saving his life with a fateful decision, the consequences of which he couldn’t have foreseen.
“I was working at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh. I had this appointment with him and I was supposed to fly down to London to see him,” he began.
“I was packed ready to go and I had a note from Olivier’s people saying that he couldn’t see me because he had other things he had to do so he needed to cancel the interview.
“It was those days when you could get late night flights from Edinburgh. I was sitting there and I thought, ‘I won’t go to London.’
“I went home and the following morning I got up and there was a Sunday Post and it said in the back that ‘Edinburgh flight from Turnhouse crashes at Heathrow killing everyone on board,’ and that’s the flight I would have been on.
“In a way, he saved my life. I was bowled over by it.”
Cox also made some strong political statements. It came as the conversation turned towards his two on-screen sons on Succession, Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin, are each nominated for an Oscar.
Cox revealed: “The problem is I won’t watch anything that is to do with Donald Trump. Donald Trump is in The Apprentice, Jeremy is playing the lawyer.
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“I have seen Kieran’s film and he’s wonderful. And I’m sure Jeremy is wonderful so I can’t really judge because I will not watch anything to do with that man – I’m talking about Trump.”
The movie The Apprentice – which was released in 2024 – is set in the 1970s and 80s, when Trump, played by Sebastian Stan, was beginning to make his name as a businessman in New York.
This isn’t the first time that Cox has let rip on the newly re-elected US president, as earlier this month he strongly referred to him as a “c***”.
During an appearance on Channel 4’s The Last Leg, he was asked by host Adam Hills for his views on Trump, and bluntly responded: “He’s a c***.”