“I have a lot of respect for Logan,” said the Scottish actor, who is filming his fourth series as the villainous media mogul. He added: “What I love about Logan is that he’s self-made. Unlike Trump, Murdoch and Conrad Black, he did it all by himself. He’s a misanthrope, he’s kind of unhappy, and his curse is that he loves his children. If he didn’t love his children life would be much easier. “The only thing we have in common is a deep disillusionment with the human experiment. We both think human beings are totally screwed. I’m an optimist – Logan is not. Logan would hate me, think I’m boring and boring. “If Logan met me he’d say, ‘I wish Brian Cox would shut up.’ Cox told an audience at the Edinburgh Television Festival that Logan Roy was originally going to be a Canadian billionaire, before a last-minute script change moved him to Cox’s hometown of Dundee. The actor said show bosses thought it would “be a bit of a surprise”. Brian Cox as Logan Roy in Succession. Photo: HBO He also mocked the inability of the Succession writers to finish a script until just before shooting each episode: “Getting a script is like getting gold. We usually get the script two days before we start shooting.” Cox lamented the class privilege of many successful actors, such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne, and wondered if she could have had the same opportunities if she had been born today. When interviewed by SNP Culture Secretary Angus Robertson, he expressed his support for Scottish independence. He said: “I want my country free.” He said he left the UK for the US in the 1990s after deciding “if I’m going to get paid to screw up, I’d rather be paid to screw up in America”. Cox returns to Scotland next summer to make a film called Glenrothen, his directorial debut. The film follows the journey of a family distillery in the central Highlands. Despite playing Logan Roy and Hannibal Lecter, the actor said he never wanted to be known for playing the bad guy. “I think I’m a cat – but people find me threatening.”
