Brian Cox, the foremost interpreter of the phrase “fuck off,” is not one to mince his words. Per the Evening Standard, Cox made that much clear on Sunday night when he absolutely ripped apart Joaquin Phoenix’s performance in Napoleon, calling it “truly terrible” and saying that he “would have played it a lot better” than the Oscar winner.
The Succession star reportedly launched into his diatribe against the Joker star’s take on Napoleon Bonaparte during a live talk at London’s HistFest, a multiday event celebrating the intersection of the arts, academics, and history. “Terrible. It’s terrible,” Cox said of the Ridley Scott film. “A truly terrible performance by Joaquin Phoenix.” Even after using the word terrible three times, Cox was far from finished. “It really is appalling,” said Cox. “I don’t know what he was thinking.”
Then the veteran actor really started cooking. Rather than blaming Scott or postproduction for Napoleon’s flaws, Cox laid the blame squarely at Phoenix’s feet. “I think it’s totally his fault, and I don’t think Ridley Scott helps him. I would have played it a lot better than Joaquin Phoenix, I tell you that. You can say it’s good drama. No—it’s lies.” Given how Cox ate up Sydney Sweeney’s Euphoria bathroom monologue, we are inclined to at least hear him out.
Cox’s criticism was not limited to Phoenix’s performance. He also took some shots at Phoenix’s name. “I think he’s well named. Joaquin…wackeen…wacky,” continued Cox. “It’s a sort of wacky performance.”
Phoenix wasn’t the only Oscar winner Cox had smoke for. The Emmy winner also took shots at the ’90s epic Braveheart, even though he had kind words to say about Mel Gibson’s performance. “Braveheart is a load of nonsense,” Cox said. “Mel Gibson was wonderful, but it’s a load of lies. He never impregnated the French princess. It is a bollocks [sic], that film.”
It wasn’t just actors and films that Cox railed against. The veteran stage performer, who’s currently starring on the West End in Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night, also had spicy things to say about theater critics, specifically ones comparing his take on James Tyrone Sr. to Logan Roy. “It’s stupid! Why make that comparison? It’s so obvious,” he said. “Most critics are stupid. They really are. Theater criticism has gone right down the tubes. You think of those wonderful critics of the past, there’s nobody to match them now. Because they don’t do their homework.”
As for homework, Cox made it clear that he believes studying is far more important than Method acting—a practice he’s railed against in the past—when it comes to delivering a great performance. Cox called Method acting “bollocks” and stressed the importance of researching characters. “You have to do your homework,” he said. “That’s the delight of it, the information you get because you’re reading everything about Churchill and you’re building up a picture of who this person was.”
His final target of the night? Donald Trump. “I think my relationship with America will be coming to a very short, sharp end quite soon because of that very thing,” said Cox, who currently resides in Brooklyn. “It’s very hard to govern America, and you certainly don’t need idiots like Trump doing that.” An equal opportunity offender, Cox also had some light criticism for Trump’s opponent, President Joe Biden. “I do think that Biden is a good man, but he’s too old.” Kind of rich coming from a 77-year-old who just said he could have played Napoleon Bonaparte, a world leader who died at 51—but if there’s anyone who could pull it off, it’s Cox.
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