In the run-up to the premiere of the finale season ofSuccession, the art of method acting has been the target of a fieryBrian Cox, the portrayer of the show’s media tycoon and patriarch, Logan Roy. Over the last handful of years, the practice in which an actor undergoes extensive measures to immerse themselves into their respective character has been critiqued for its deemed self-indulgence and narcissism on the part of the actor. For many audiences and fellow actors, method acting has gone too far, with recent instances fromJared LetoandAustin Butlerbeing the last straw. Cox, an accomplished Shakespearean actor learning from various theaters across Scotland and Great Britain, launched a vendetta against method acting in the press, even speaking out against his co-star and on-screen son,Jeremy Strong, who has opened up about his intensive process of transforming into Kendall Roy. However, with all of Cox’s boisterous tirades and professional wrestling-like antagonism towards this acting approach, it is worth considering if he is the one that has been using The Method all along.
This discourse began when Strong revealed the lengths he goes to play the hopeful successor to Waystar Royco. Method acting, originally a method developed by Konstantin Stanislavski, has changed over the years from Stanislavki’s original style. These days method acting is commonly defined as the process of extensive role training and rehearsal by an actor to stay in character off-screen and experience sincere expressive emotions from the circumstances of their role, when we refer to method acting in this article, we are talking about this contemporary interpretation. It should be noted that traditionally, staying in character even when the cameras are off is not part of The Method. In the most extreme cases, made famous by the likes ofRobert De NiroandDaniel Day-Lewis, they will take on the life of their respective characters, such as when De Niro picked up shifts as ataxi driverin real life, or when Day-Lewis requested that he be referred to as “Mr. President.”
Strong has never gone to these extremes to prepare for Kendall Roy. While the actor himself does not consider himself to be of the method variety (and he would be right in the traditional sense), in defense of himself in an infamousNew Yorkerstory about Strong, he can certainly be attributed to elements of off-screen preparation, with behavior including isolation from his cast members and refusal to rehearse scenes, citing that he wants “every scene to feel like I’m encountering a bear in the woods.” In this story, his fellow cast members,Kieran Culkin,and Cox weighed in on Strong’s approach.
“He puts himself in a bubble" described Culkin, adding that it’s difficult to properly recount his acting process because he rarely sees him off-camera. Despite the complementary nature of this acting style to his performance, as his work as Kendall Roy has awarded him an Emmy and Golden Globe, Culkin finds his detachment to be detrimental to his craft. Cox’s testimony from theNew Yorkerpiece was brief, but he expressed concern over his personal well-being, stating that, “I just worry about what he does to himself. I worry about the crises he puts himself through to prepare.”
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Brian Cox’s Thoughts on Jeremy Strong’s Method Acting
The crumbs of the current act that Cox has displayed recently are seen in the 2021 story. He referenced that method acting is a “particularly American disease.” Cox follows a classical “on and off switch” way of acting that is traditionally followed by British performers. It is the mindset that inspired the famous line thatLaurence OlivieraskedDustin Hoffmanon the set ofMarathon Man. When Hoffman was partaking in extreme measures to stay in character, Olivier retorted, “My dear boy, why don’t you just try acting?” At face value, Cox’s attitude towards method acting is justified. The practice is inherently self-indulgent and is incompatible with forming cooperative relationships with the cast and crew. If anything, real talent comes from the ability to convincingly switch into a respective character when the cameras are rolling. As the public has become more exposed to the dark side of method acting, and the turmoil that it can cause to people surrounding it, the less favorable it has become among audiences.
Cox’s Antagonism Toward Method Acting Ramps Up
As of late, Cox has pushed his agenda against rigorous role preparation from Strong and actors alike to a whole new unwarranted level.Doubling downon his unfavorable opinion of method acting, he said, “I don’t hold a lot of the American shit, having to have a religious experience every time you play a part. It’s crap,” at the Toronto Film Festival in 2022. His stance against the practice has shifted into a cultural vendetta with the American connotation associated with it. With his most recent comments in March 2023, this is where the expression of a strong opinion crosses the line toward a routine of self-parody. Performing a bit forThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallonin lead up to thepremiere of Season 4ofSuccession, Cox took his act to another extreme. During his appearance, they introduced a spoof on a Master Class instructional video thatfeatured Cox shouting, “Just fucking do it! Act! Say the fucking lines, and don’t bump into the fucking furniture.” Does this healthy use of profanity and bluntness sound familiar to a certain character that Cox is now famous for playing?
Is Cox’s Behavior an Act?
This conflict devolved from insightful commentary on the duality of acting styles to a professional wrestling storyline. Inexplicably or not, Cox has engaged in the foolish American acting style that he detests. Throughout the recent press tour, Brian Cox and Logan Roy ofSuccessionwere inseparable. Fond of the success and mainstream vault that the series has granted him, it seems as though his role as the prickly and curmudgeonly media tycoon has gone to his head. Take this instance at a Red Carpet premiere, with Coxmaniacally screamingat photographers to get organized while the cast poses for a photo. Just like hisTonight Showskit, the artificial theatricality of Cox’s act has fully revealed itself.
At the Red Carpet, his fellow cast members can be seen laughing at his antics, which is evident that Cox’s behavior is all too common. Kieran Culkin described his on-screen father as one prone to get “hangry” on set, which does not shy from the kind of burst of rage that Logan would unleash. Buried under the headlines are Cox’s feelings about working with Jeremy Strong. While not in character as the abrasive Logan Roy, he said acting alongside Strong is a “truly great experience,” calling him a “wonderful actor to work with.”
The jury is still out on whether Cox is intentionally staying in character and contradicting all of his acerbic commentary on method acting or if this is just a ploy to cash in on his breakout screen role. It is a shame to see a former sturdy, unfussy, character actor who would briefly appear in great films such as25th Hour,Adaptation, andZodiacand light up the screen with his authoritative presence stoop to these theatrics. Regardless of his motivation, Cox’s performance on the press tour is exactly that–rooted in phoniness. Cox boasts about his learned procedure of acting as the proper approach, but it would be difficult to call him the consummate professional during the lead-up to the finale season ofSuccession. Logan Roy is a captivating anti-hero for viewers when on-screen, as a modern-day King Lear who attempts to retain power amid a corporate takeover from his children and other adversaries.
As of late, in addition to these theatrics, Cox has voiced hissupport ofJ.K. Rowlingamid her controversial inflammatory Tweets about the transgender community, stating “I don’t like the way she’s been treated.” This only sours the act that Cox has enacted over the past few months to a problematic degree. In real life, the ultra-assertive bravado that drives Logan grows tiring when attributed to the real-life Brian Cox. If the actor happens to be oblivious to the hypocritical implications of his actions, the joke still remains on him, because, in lead up to the finale of his career achievement, he has morphed into the thing that he hates the most.
