Do we like Brian Cox?
Our score: 6 out of 10. Good on Trump, women and Scotland's trans-recognition bill, but marked down for defending Rowling, Spacey and Singer, and for the rehearsal-room temper.
Cox is Dundee through and through. He started at Dundee Rep as a teenager and, 64 years on, came home in 2025 as its patron, a full-circle moment by the theatre's own description. Most people now know him as the Succession patriarch who made swearing an art form, and in 2026 he made his feature directing debut with Glenrothan.
The Trump stuff is where he's loudest, and it's consistent. In the 2026 Times interview he said Trump only cared about the oil, and said the patriarchy needed handing over to women, adding that in America “they don't like women”. A year earlier he told Sky News Trump was talking nonsense about Scottish independence referendums, calling him “that idiot in America”.
The harm check is where it gets murky. He has repeatedly defended J.K. Rowling, saying on the BBC she's entitled to her opinion, and in 2020 backed her line on menstruation, which LGBTQ+ commentators read as siding with her. Against that, he said he was “very, very proud” of Scotland for passing its gender recognition bill, so he's not campaigning against trans people, but the Rowling defence is a mark against him here.
Then there's loyalty to blokes in trouble. In 2024 he said Kevin Spacey, who has faced misconduct allegations, shouldn't be “punished endlessly”. In 2023 he praised X2 director Bryan Singer, who has also faced allegations of misconduct, as “really, really gifted”. Cox calls it loyalty and mates, but plenty of readers will call it tone-deaf.
The temper is the other mark. The Times reported that he was reported to the actors' union Equity in 2024 after he lost his temper in rehearsals for a play. Cox called the backlash “woke nonsense” and said he was angry at himself, not his scene partner. Whether that's old-school passion or just a hard man to work with depends on who you ask, and we only have his side on the record.
The good stuff is real, mostly in theatre. He's a patron of Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre, and in 2026 was set to receive the Raindance Icon Award, presented by director Jim Sheridan. Nothing in the reporting shows a court case against him, and the record is thin on big personal charity, so that's honestly the whole list.