Brian Cox Calls Johnny Depp ‘Overrated,’ Kevin Spacey ‘Stupid’ in Unfiltered Remarks About Actors

Brian Cox is not holding back his opinions on his fellow Hollywood actors.

In an interview with British newspaper The Times published Friday, April 3, the Succession alum, 79, shared that he turned down the role of the governor in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which Jonathan Pryce later played.

However, there’s no love lost there, as the Manhunter actor said the franchise’s lead, Johnny Depp, who famously played Captain Jack Sparrow, is “so overblown, so overrated.”

The Golden Globe Award winner went on to describe Kevin Spacey, whom he worked with on the 1994 film Iron Will, as “a stupid, stupid man.” Cox also called Edward Norton, with whom he acted in the 2002 flick 25th Hour, “A pain in the arse.” Additionally, Cox declared that Ian McKellen’s acting is “not to my taste.”

As far as directors and writers go, the Bourne Identity star referred to Quentin Tarantino as “meretricious,” said Michael Caton-Jones is “a complete arsehole,” and gave David Hare a “see you next Tuesday.”

Cox himself ventured into directing with his film Glenrothan, explaining, “I realized that I’m more egalitarian than a lot of directors, the kind who call themselves visionaries.”

“I like to honour the actor’s performance. With a Quentin Tarantino film, what you see is all Quentin Tarantino,” he stated. “That’s not me. I don’t want to do that.”

When asked by the publication if his “being so blunt lost you friends or caused you problems,” Cox laughed and admitted, “Well, I don’t know yet if it’s caused me problems.”

“I mean, my wife keeps saying, ‘Brian, be careful. Brian, be careful,'” he noted. “I think, F**k it, I don’t want to be careful any more! I’ll be 80 this year. F**k it! I’m gonna say what I want to say.”