Succession’s Brian Cox has slammed the Oscars as ‘absolute nonsense’ after he was snubbed for a nomination.
The Scottish actor, 78, played Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 2017 film Churchill but failed to land a Best Actor nomination.
In contrast, Gary Oldman’s portrayal of the British politician in 2017’s Darkest Hour earned him the Best Actor Oscar, even though Brian Cox, who also portrayed the same historical figure, still firmly believes that his own performance was superior.
Cox expressed his feelings during an interview with THR, stating, ‘Our film came out in the summer, and it was a relatively independent film, so you haven’t got the power of the studios behind it. The Oscars are absolute nonsense because everything that’s judged in the Oscars, it’s not a year’s work. It’s just the work that comes out between Thanksgiving and Christmas.’
‘I think it makes those awards a fallacy quite honestly because there’s a lot of other good work that goes on outside of what they call Oscar season. So my film never even got a look, and I still think my performance is a better performance.’
Cox, who is a classically trained Shakespearean actor, has never landed an Oscar nomination but has won an Emmy for 2001’s Nuremberg and a Golden Globe and two Screen Actors Guild Awards for his portrayal of Logan Roy on Succession. Â
Succession’s Brian Cox has slammed the Oscars as ‘absolute nonsense’ after he was snubbed for a nomination
The Scottish actor, 78, played Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 2017 film Churchill but failed to land a Best Actor nomination
In contrast Gary Oldman’s portrayal of the Brit politician in 2017’s Darkest Hour (pictured) landed him the Best Actor Oscar – even though a slighted Cox still believes his own performance was superior
Offscreen the outspoken star is known for his headline-grabbing rants.Â
In November he branded Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump a ‘monster’ in an excoriating interview.Â
Cox told Channel 4’s US election coverage when asked how he felt about the upcoming results of the race that he was a ‘crazy… insane [and] wants to be a dictator.’
He also got into a verbal spat with former British prime minister Boris Johnson over Trump’s rhetoric, and whether he would act on the promises he has made. Â
‘It’s the most crucial election… in my lifetime, and we have to make sure that that [Donald Trump] doesn’t get in because he is a monster. He really is’, Cox said.Â
‘He’s crazy, he’s insane, he wants to be a dictator. It’s all been so clear, I don’t know why the American people aren’t listening. Some of the American people are, but a lot of the American people aren’t.Â
‘The kind of nonsense he’s been talking… I think he’s lost it. He’s deeply mentally unstable, and I think he has been for quite some time. This is not a man who should be president of the United States.
‘He’s unreliable, he’s a convicted felon, I’m horrified. I’m a lapsed Catholic, and I read today that he’s got huge support among Catholic voters. I find that extraordinary, Catholic voters voting for such a man who is… a big sinner.’
He said: ‘So my film never even got a look, and I still think my performance is a better performance’ – pictured in Succession as Logan Roy
Cox, who is a classically trained Shakespearean actor, has never landed an Oscar nomination but has won an Emmy for 2001’s Nuremberg and a Golden Globe and two Screen Actors Guild Awards for his portrayal of Logan Roy on Succession – pictured 2020
 ‘I find it all depressing and curiously ridiculous.’
When asked about how much of Trump’s fiery rhetoric would become reality, he chuckled as he said: ‘He’ll do what suits Donald Trump. He’s not interested in… making American great again.Â
‘The man is completely self-serving, he is only interested in one thing, and that’s Donald Trump.Â
‘He doesn’t give a damn about America. He really doesn’t.’
Cox then got into a scrap with former British prime minister Boris Johnson, who claimed that Trump’s views on Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelensky would be changed by him entering the Oval Office.Â
