Brian Cox talks to Mark Lawson about Manhunter

United manhunter I had done Manhunter and I had you know I on the strength of actually what was interesting is the one forecasting tried to kobani Timmerman came to see me in rat in the skull and when I and she called me into her office to go on tape for Michael Mann and she said to me she said would you mind if you turned your back to the camera I said what she said I don't want to see you would you mind I said this is a funny film interviewer you don't want to see me I said well okay so we did this reading and I said well why do you want me to do that she said well you know where I was sitting she said I i sat another seats this was at the Public Theater in New York she said I couldn't sue for 20 minutes but I could hear you and it was pretty scary where I could hear so I really want and I said there's a bit of it I use a bit in the actual film because I actually my first unlike Tony Hawk kneeling there I'm my first thing is I'm completely turned away from the camera that's the same atrocious aftershave you are in court three years ago yeah I keep getting it for Christmas you get my car I got it thank you when I was officer Stewart Ono is first to see my basement Stewart's fine emotional problems out here the only problems we'll know oh [ __ ] I did that film and and then I came back and there was nothing I mean as my marriage was over I had no work and nothing and you know and I was I didn't know what I was going to be doing my theatre career right it's sort of sort of evaporated and I didn't know and I thought oh God and then I knew that I I mean I was on the point of moving to America at that point I was on the point of trying to pursue a film career here and I realized I couldn't because I couldn't leave my kids I couldn't be my arm so I went into the Barbican Manhunter which made you a trick quiz question he was the first actor to play Hannibal Lecter uhm it seems a lot experience because it's a very very good film everyone has seen it thinks that and yet there is the shadow of all the ones yeah what how difficult was that psychologically we're not home getting started playing it not difficult at all I never ever affected me I don't I don't have those kind of feelings you know I don't feel proprietorial about things I mean you know I I mean my name is standing there with his Oscar you must have thought wow that could have been me yeah you know I had an incident years and years ago isn't funny it goes right back to Michael Gambon this is a true story this is a 1967 such the aid and we were sharing this dressing Michael had an argument was another act only and he said can I come in - your dressing because we're not getting on I said sure so he put his name nothing and I was all set to do a TV series and I had you know I just got married and and I was thinking oh this would be great and it was a series called the border oh so it was about a Scottish it was a sort of Western the Scottish Borders them the marches and the kind of the Douglases and his feuding families and was really good shows very good script and it was been produced by a man called Peter Graham Scott and um so I remember I was doing I was doing Romeo and Juliet and I was doing a fellow so all these people were coming up to see me Peter Graham Scott and that there was a Simon lengthen was there and James gap wood was there and Simon Langton tells the story from the other end so after the show they were all going to come around to my dressing room so at the end of the show as a knock on the door and it sees people and the door opens inside there was a tiny dresser and the door was in such a way that I can't be seen only Gambon can be seen so the producers say the Gambon we thought that was fantastic we're doing a show called the borders and we feel you'd be absolutely right for the leading role of gavankar and Gambon was literally poleaxed by this I mean he was I remember his makeup living de and because I was pretty poleaxed to sitting behind the sitting behind the door hidden away and I thought I can't believe this it was like and everything went in kind of slow-mo and actually Sam unlikely told me years later that he had no idea this was going to happen the other people were polarized and that Peter Graham Scott just took it upon his as a whim to say I want you to play the part and then this was embarrassing no Lee was embarrassing because I had actually managed to get gamble my agent my then agent and said I think he we should take Michael Gamera because he's a wonderful acting you should really take him on and he did and I remember Mike you know he was and I sort of justified said well Mike's he's got a young kid he's got you know he needs a break and and I kind of let it go and once I'd let that go nothing else affected me after that you know I just somehow or other I that kind of I kind of exercise something during that time you know and I never felt that kind of jealousy again seve never at any point imagined if you done all three and won the Oscar why you know it would not be nice to win an Oscar and necessarily want to win an Oscar for kind of electric wirelessly I mean I I I have very strong views about what happened to Hannibal Lector how Tom Harris kind of fell in love with his character some I mean sons of the lambs and and red dragon if they are both really really good mood and good storing some in the wonderful books I think Hannibal is a bit R Isabel and a bit ridiculous and I think that Hannibal lost his mystery in Manhunter and red dragon Hannibal Lecter very mysterious you don't really know so there's so it's a wonderful role to play because it's it's kind of easy there's a strong mysterious elemental by the Silence of the Lambs he's a little lesser is but he's still pretty mysterious you use Evian skin cream and sometimes you wear head to toe but not today Tony did this extraordinary performance which everybody you know went for and but the interesting thing is subsequently of course people become aware of the other film own people so you know there was a film before that and of course it's now become this great thing you know that's that sort of plague both our careers I mean I remember I was in Vancouver doing the x-men films and I got a call was a Thursday morning saying I just wanted to bring you up with somebody I don't know it was an actor friend of mine from New York and I was a friend of mine Michael Davison you rang me up from New York say I just read to you reviews for Hannibal Lecter they're fantastic congratulations and I went oh thank you and I hang on I said what reviews I haven't I don't do I don't do and I'm done Hannibal Lecter for you know then it was you know wow it was nearly 15 years I said I'd played would he said no no you've been reviewed in for in Hannibal but they've spent the the New York Times have spent the whole time reira viewing you and Michael Mann and giving you raves and poor Tony not coming off so well and of course so I went oh so so I'm very grateful to you know but it's you know this is sort of those roles you know I don't know how Tony feels about it because I'm spoken to him about it you know so I don't know but I'm very happy I'm very happy the way things turned out

Channel: Mike Pitt

Views: 70,705

Rating: 4.9398999 out of 5

Keywords: Brian Cox, Manhunter, Mark Lawson, Red Dragon, Hannibal Lector, Lecktor, Lektor, Thomas Harris, 1986

Id: qhVu2DYVC5Y

Length: 7min 56sec (476 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 16 2011