Brian Cox: Interview (Manhunter)

thanks best is well he acts a granite hard Scots actor who is revered for his performances on Broadway in the West End long before Hollywood called no he's the star of countless movies bringing badly needed integrity to blockbusters such as Troy x-men to Braveheart when we first met in 1985 he revealed how he struggled with an Irish accent in the play Russ in the skull there's lots to remember obviously Lola stacks to remember it's just you on stage all attack you well know there's the four of us but I have a kind of forty five minute monologue and you do it in the Northern Ireland acts yes I do let's see you know that I'm what well it's my I'm Scots though I'm Scots Irish I'm a what is probably known as a Mi'kmaq so I had to train I had a woman who helped me and i also went over to northern Isle and learnt the action I'm actually avoiding as you can see doing the accent as I saw in a very difficult very shrewd move he plucked up the courage to come back he might even give us a blast at that accent tonight ladies and gentlemen it's Brian Cox [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and your program is very cruel like me tell me about it I have to look at myself every time I do it every time you do it that much me murder it is because the years have been very kind to me there is the pick on you have you lost a lot of weight I have yeah I had to I had I'm diabetic and I had to go on a specialized diet to lose weight yeah because you know the good life was catching up with me that was your son of course and that was my M and now can you do an Irish accent yeah well I am actually just playin Irishmen in Deadwood scorchin in that as well I'm another thing about it no since we met here could you have anticipated the sort of Hollywood stardom that's coming your way absolutely not so what happened how did it happen I don't know I think it helps when you're written off when I brought you off oh I've always written I was written off a log you know people said ah well his time is over his time is over and that's that's a very good thing because it spurs you on and I think it's persistence more than anything else but I mean I've seen you in so many things that as we said you give credibility to what is not sometimes the greatest of acting around you yeah I know where you mean not specifically but x-men - uh-huh what was that like - a period it's very it's it's it was a great gig I mean there were very good actors in that there was Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman we know wonderful actors and quite a lot of them were theatrically based and also the great thing about x-men 2 is the women Halle Berry famke janssen I mean the most beautiful women and it's worth doing the job just for that just being in the dressing so it isn't the money then no it's not even with the money he told me it took a while to do the Maggie Rebecca used to have to be called at two o'clock in the morning and she would actually be called at two o'clock in the morning to go all that blue makeup on how long would that take it she'd be there till ten o'clock the next morning getting the makeup on so take about six hours and then take it off before she goes to ending it up again for two yeah it seems pointless that's a little bit what you think about it yeah she does there isn't the kind of summary anymore is there but the kind of movies or TV that you appear in no you know you try I mean my rule of thumb is you try and do certain things in order to do other things you're subsidizing yourself all the time so you do stuff like x-men or Troy or what-have-you those big movies and then they subsidize the fact that you might want to go back into the theater and play in the theater for a you know for a two or three months you know and that's that's the great thing about it you know one sort of feeds the other so in a sense you're not too bothered about that and it's a great way to do it because actually you do make money on those big films and also the independent films I love the independent films but you couldn't afford to do the independent films unless you do the big ones um where'd you get the shoes or did you like them there they I got these are freebies um I did I was wondering where you'd be where yeah there's a thing called dressed to kill which is a it's where a lot of Scottish people in New York get on a runway and wear a kilt and they gave me these shoes what the wind blows up absolutely in fact my son and I went on there and we disgraced ourselves now a lot of people don't know that you you played the first Hannibal Lecter yeah and that come about why I was doing actually talk about it oh yeah yeah yeah I always think that looks more like my son that does me um I I was doing this play right in the skull ironically in America and I was asked to audition by this very eccentric casting called Bonnie Timmerman and she said would you come and audition for this role and I said sure and she'd see me in the play so I went along and now normally it's a camera you know you sit down so she said to me the first thing she said to me she said could you turn your back to the camera please I said what she said could you I don't want to see your face I said but I'm auditioning for the so she said no please if you could just turn away and I said why she said because when I saw you in the theater I couldn't see you I'm sitting in a very bad seat I could just hear your voice and I want the director just to hear your voice before he sees you so I think that was the reason I got the job so actually and in fact you don't see it but my first entrance in this film is I've got my back to the camera look we have actually a clip from it all right Manhunter 1986 my dear will if this pilgrim imagines he has a relationship with the moon he might go outside to look at it I've ever seen blood appears quite black if one were nude it would be better to have privacy for this sort of thing that's interesting no it's not you thought of it before I consider it you came here look at me look at the old sent back again to live I want your opinion I don't have one learner but when you have one I'd like to hear it can I keep it I am decided yet I'll start it when you get more fouls I'd like to see them - you can call me when I have to call my lawyer they bring me a telephone would you like to leave me your home phone number now the entire call me goodbye doc collecting late messages for me the number you call me the reason you caught me well just like you on the set snow yes and you love it like that in the privacy of your own home absolutely no I'm not I'm nothing like that I'm too much of a wuss umber no I'm these guys are scary I mean really scary yeah but we'll you'll be disappointed when Anthony Hopkins got the the role for Silence of the Lambs only the money that was the only thing I was disappointed about that I lost out on the money no I mean it's a question that people kind of ask me a lot you know how do you feel about Anthony Hopkins and it's a very different performance it's and I feel that Hannibal Lecter is one of these iconic characters ironically the the spelling is different because the name they had a big route the name because somebody actually owned the name Hannibal Lecter so when they wrote Silence of the Lang's the Lambs they changed the name of the character until they had to be settled out of court and then they got the name Hannibal Lecter back and Tony played yeah does it get up your nose a bit with an actor of your standing you will appear on something like Troy and you're not trying to find out how much you got paid for it but compared to the kind of books that Brad Pierce would have got absolutely for being achilles yeah I mean he were better as I commend on my opinion but they are very nice so I mean does it get up your nose that they get so much money well you know the thing about the thing about people like Brad and and those guys is that they have such a lifestyle there it's so tough for them you know that's what people don't realize you know that they are there these kind of iconic figures and it's very hard to live like that on a day-to-day basis because they're never out of the public eye and also on that movie he worked really really hard if he wasn't in one unit he had two units we had unit 1 and unit 2 and so when unit 1 was shooting unit 2 would be doing battle stuff and Brad worked every single day I mean it wasn't a Dana it didn't work on the movie so he I don't know where the earn is 20 20 million whereas he was getting paid but he certainly you know he certainly worked very hard yeah and and I think the light I you know the I think for me the great thing to be in movies is just to playing supporting roles in movies is great because you have that kind of spotlight which I think would be too much quite frankly yeah now at the moment you've got a tremendously busy release schedule object do you get back to Scotland or whether your home is here I have a home in London but I I as I get older I don't know if it's the same for you going back to Ireland but I love going back to Scotland and I try to go back as much as I can and I spent quite a lot I've got a big birthday coming up and so we're going to have a big do in Scotland in July that's great look it's been a great treat having you with us Thank You Terry I've always been oh I tell you your shows for me on the radio what are the things I remember fondly when I'm in America Irish and it's just they're just wonderful very flattering and kind of you Brian Cox come back next week if you like

Channel: Mike Pitt

Views: 91,064

Rating: 4.8371501 out of 5

Keywords: manhunter, William, Petersen, CSI, Michael, Mann, Lecktor, Lecter, Lector, Hannibal, Heat, Ali, Thief, Keep, Mohicans, Shriekback, red, dragon, thomas, harris, Brian, Cox, Terry, Wogan, Helghan, Helghast

Id: ccPeC-uRI2c

Length: 10min 22sec (622 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 10 2009