In addition to playing patriarch Logan Roy on HBO's hit series "Succession," Brian Cox is known for being a vocal critic of Method acting. So much so that he roasted his own hatred of the unconventional acting approach in a fake MasterClass video.
During a recent visit to "The Tonight Show" to promote the upcoming fourth and final season of "Succession," Cox admitted that he's "been a little harsh" about his criticisms on Method acting.
"I'm sorry about that… in fact, I've been trying to set the record straight in a MasterClass series of acting that I've been doing," Cox told host Jimmy Fallon. "Well actually, I brought a clip. I think this more eloquently explains my feelings about acting. Can we show it?"
In the clip, Cox introduced himself and his parody MasterClass, which is on the craft of acting. He then offered his first tip, saying, "Just f**king do it! Act! Say the f**king lines and don't bump into the f**king furniture."
Looks like Cox hasn't changed his views on Method acting after all.
Cox's ardent disapproval of Method acting garnered media attention in 2021, when the New Yorker published a now-viral profile on Jeremy Strong, who plays Cox's onscreen son Kendall Roy. In it, Strong's unwavering devotion to the acting approach portrays him as an intense — and often difficult — actor to work with.
"I think you have to go through whatever the ordeal is that the character has to go through," Strong said, adding that he refuses to rehearse with his co-stars on the show. "If I have any method at all, it is simply this: to clear away anything — anything — that is not the character and the circumstances of the scene … usually that means clearing away almost everything around and inside you, so that you can be a more complete vessel for the work at hand."
Back in February, Cox was asked about Strong's Method acting for a "Town & Country" cover story. In response, he said, "Oh, it's f**king annoying. Don't get me going on it."
"He's a very good actor," Cox said of Strong. "And the rest of the ensemble is all okay with this. But knowing a character and what the character does is only part of the skill set. He's still that guy, because he feels if he went somewhere else he'd lose it. But he won't! Strong is talented. He's f**king gifted. When you've got the gift, celebrate the gift. Go back to your trailer and have a hit of marijuana, you know?"
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Oddly enough, Cox's "Town & Country" cover story published on the same day that Strong graced the cover of GQ's March issue. Strong addressed Cox's comments, saying "everyone's entitled to have their feelings."
"I also think Brian Cox, for example, he's earned the right to say whatever the f**k he wants. There was no need to address that or do damage control…," Strong continued. "I feel a lot of love for my siblings and my father on the show. And it is like a family in the sense that — and I'm sure they would say this, too — you don't always like the people that you love. I do always respect them."
In a recent interview with Variety, Cox doubled down on his hatred of Method acting, saying, "It's really a cultural clash. I don't put up with all that American s**t. I'm sorry. All that sort of 'I think, therefore I feel.' Just do the job. Don't identify."
"Succession" returns for its final season on March 26.
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