Brian Cox Unleashes on Tarantino, Jeremy Strong, and More in Unfiltered Interview

Brian Cox, never one to keep his mouth shut (especially when a microphone is nearby), is back at it. The 'Succession' star is making headlines again—this time while promoting his feature directing debut, 'Glenrothan.' If you know Cox’s history, you won’t be shocked: over the years, he’s fired off spicy opinions about films, actors, and the industry in general. His latest round takes aim at Quentin Tarantino, method acting, and, for good measure, throws a few grenades at some notable names.

Brian Cox vs. Quentin Tarantino: The 'Visionary' Difference

So Cox is out there pitching 'Glenrothan,' and naturally someone asks what kind of director he is. Instead of the usual 'everyone did great, we all got along' stuff, Cox draws a hard line between himself and Quentin Tarantino. Basically, Cox says Tarantino controls every frame of his movies, soaking them in his own style and ego, whereas Cox insists he gives actors much more freedom. He put it like this:

"I'm more egalitarian than a lot of directors, the kind who call themselves visionaries. I like to honor the actor's performance. With a Quentin Tarantino film, what you see is all Quentin Tarantino. That's not me. I don't want to do that."

He didn’t stop there—Cox called Tarantino 'meretricious.' If you’re not sure, that’s a roundabout insult that basically means 'flashy, but ultimately shallow.' Not exactly gentle criticism.

The Never-Ending Method Acting Debate (And Jeremy Strong Fatigue)

Bringing up Jeremy Strong is like poking the hornet’s nest for Cox. If you watched 'Succession,' you saw what Strong can do, but the subject of his supposedly intense ‘method’ approach seems to drive Cox up the wall. Strong, in typical method style, stays in character around the clock—something Cox finds both effective and deeply annoying. Live theater techniques on a TV set? Cox isn’t buying it, even if the results are good.

Just how over it is Cox? Well, apparently Strong has begged Cox to please, for the love of God, stop talking about him in interviews. No such luck. Cox even shared that Strong picked up these habits by assisting Daniel Day-Lewis, the ultimate method guy. Day-Lewis, for his part, has invited Cox to talk it out face-to-face, but Cox isn’t planning to take up the offer.

"Dan Day-Lewis, he's discreet. He never upsets it [the filming process]... I don't want to go on about Jeremy, because I’ve got into a lot of problems and he’s begged me to stop talking about him. He's a good actor, Jeremy. He's a wonderful actor. It's just all the bollocks that goes with it. You watch children—they don't say, 'What's my motivation?' They just do it!"

Cox comes off as someone who wants the results without all the actorly melodrama. Honestly, hard to blame him.

Cox’s Burn Book: Quick Hits

If you thought the fireworks were done, think again. Here are some of the other folks Cox decided to roast in this single interview:

• English playwright David Hare? Cox called him a 'see you next Tuesday.' (You get it.)
• Scottish director Michael Caton-Jones? 'A complete arsehole.'
• Even his own wife’s got advice for him to tone it down, but Cox, who turns 80 this year, says he just doesn’t care anymore. His words: "F*ck it! I'm gonna say what I want to say."

The Method Debate: Kristen Stewart Chimes In

Cox isn’t alone in the anti-method acting camp. Kristen Stewart, who recently made her own directorial debut, called method acting a 'defense mechanism for male actors' insecure about looking unmanly. Her take? 'There's no bravado in suggesting you’re a mouthpiece for someone else's ideas. It's inherently submissive.' So, yeah, this argument isn’t going away.

About 'Glenrothan'

For all the ranting, here’s the project Cox is out there pushing: 'Glenrothan' is being billed as a 'love letter to Scotland' (his words). The film stars Cox himself alongside Alan Cumming, and features them playing brothers reuniting after 35 years apart. It lands in UK theaters on April 17. Word on the street (a.k.a. from Collider) is it’s not exactly a home run: 'Cloying at times, but more often, irritating in its presentation of a story we’ve seen so many times before, done poorly.' No US release date so far—maybe Cox’s headlines will help get it across the pond, though probably not in the way he intended.