Logan Roy would hate me, says Succession star Brian Cox

Brian Cox has said Logan Roy, the character he plays in Succession, would “hate him” if the pair ever met.

“I have a lot of respect for Logan,” said the Scottish actor, who is filming his fourth series as the foul-mouthed media mogul.

He added: “What I love about Logan is he’s self made. Unlike Trump, Murdoch, and Conrad Black he did it all himself. He’s a misanthrope, he’s kind of unhappy, and his curse is he loves his children. If he didn’t love his children life would be a lot easier.

“The one thing we have in common is a deep disappointment in the human experiment. We both think human beings are totally fucked. I’m an optimist – Logan is not. Logan would hate me, he’d think I’m tiresome and boring.

“If Logan met me he would say ‘I wish that Brian Cox would just shut the fuck up.’”

Cox told an audience at the Edinburgh TV festival that Logan Roy was originally going to be a Canadian billionaire, before a last-minute script change relocated him to Cox’s native Dundee.

The actor said the show’s bosses thought it “would be a little surprise”.

He also mocked the inability of Succession’s writers to finish a script until just before the filming of each episode: “Getting a script is like getting gold. We usually get the script two days before we start filming.”

Cox bemoaned the class privilege of many successful actors, such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne, and questioned whether he would have been able to have the same opportunities if he had been born today.

While being interviewed by the SNP culture minister, 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 that “if I’m going to be paid money for doing crap, I’d rather be paid money for doing crap in America”.

Cox is returning to Scotland next summer to make a film called Glenrothen, his debut as a director. The film follows the journey of a family-owned distillery in the central Highlands.

Despite portraying both Logan Roy and Hannibal Lecter, the actor said he had never meant to be known for playing evil men.

“I think I’m a pussy cat – but people find me threatening.”