Brian Cox says he has no interest in method acting: ‘It’s crap’

‘Succession’ star said the practice of actors immersing themselves in a character as ‘American s***’

Brian Cox has expressed apathy towards the practice of method acting during a recent panel discussion.

The actor plays Logan Roy – the patriarch of the Roy family and the head of a multimillion-dollar media company – in the acclaimed HBO drama Succession.

Having won several awards for his portrayal as the fearsome family leader, Cox has received widespread praise for his work.

However, he’s clarified that his performance is not due to method acting – the process of immersing oneself deeply into a character.

While promoting his upcoming film, Prisoner’s Daughter, the Scottish actor decried the performance exercise as “American s***” and stated that he doesn’t hold onto the characters he plays after the work is done.

“I don’t hold a lot of the American s**t, having to have a religious experience every time you play a part. It’s crap,” he told the audience during a discussion at the Toronto International Film Festival on Wednesday 14 September (via The Hollywood Reporter).

“I don’t hang onto the characters I play,” he continued. “I let them go through me. The thing is to be ready to accept, as an actor. You stand there, you’re ready to accept whatever is thrown at you.”

Later on, he compared his Succession role to his in Prisoner’s Daughter, and stated how he prefers to allow the characters to make themselves known to him. “You just let it come through you,” he added. “And you don’t get in the f***ing way.”

Brian Cox as Logan Roy in ‘Succession’ (AP)

His Succession co-star Jeremy Strong is known to use method acting as a core part of his process of getting into character.

Playing Logan’s insecure but ambitious son Kendall Roy in the drama series, Strong embodies his role in his daily life as a way of connecting.

“I think it’s very important with acting work, that you have a personal experience,” he told GQ in 2019. “That it is not just an imaginary experience, that you go through something and that it costs you.”

Season four of Succession is expected to air in 2023.