The Tangled Life Of Brian Cox (And Why He's Been Married 3 Times)

Few people want to be told to "f*** off" and yet, this is a regular request for Brian Cox. The veteran actor is known by most as the frighteningly powerful patriarch in the HBO series "Succession." In fact, his character Logan Roy used the signature catchphrase over thirty times in his first three seasons of "Succession." For fans of the show, sadly, the final season began in 2023. For Cox, those four seasons were a mere blip on his impressive resume even though he admitted the show held a special place in his heart. "But it's only a stop on the way. It is not the destination, as far as I'm concerned," he told The New York Times. While Cox confessed it could be his career defining role, "I'm just going to go on regardless." It seems likely that Cox will continue to find work, especially since he was simultaneously doing voice work plus other side projects outside "Succession." For example, Cox was set to star in a movie centered around Scotland called "Glenrothan," as well as sit behind the camera. "I'm going to hopefully direct my first movie in my grand old age," he said.

In his over half a century of acting work, Cox has received impressive accolades. Yet, he also was not immune to drama and tragedy in his real life, starting from a young age. Including a few missteps in his romantic relationships, this is everything you need to know about the tangled life of Brian Cox.

The extraordinary life of Brian Cox literally started in tangles when he was born in the coastal city of Dundee, Scotland. "I was a double breach, apparently, and I came out (with) my own umbilical cord around my neck. There was nothing very quiet about it! You know, massive attention seeker from the off"," he once said on a Radio 4 program. According to the actor, everyone in the delivery room knew he would one day be a star. "I just think I sprang from my mother's womb as a performer, even my birth was dramatic," he joked. Cox also remembers exhilaration as a young boy. "My cousin Harry used to drive for Dickson's buses, so my ma and I would go off on adventures on Sunday mornings ... and, as a treat, having afternoon tea," Cox recalled to The Sunday Times.

Even after becoming a massive Hollywood star, Cox still stayed connected to his hometown. "I grow to admire the city more and more and the courage of the city, the courage of the way the people have addressed the town, which is very impressive," he told The Herald Scotland. Showing hometown love, the student body of the University of Dundee elected Cox to be its administrative leader, or rector. In this position, he showed his influence by securing a visit to the campus by the Dalai Lama. Cox still keeps the scarf gifted to him by the religious figure during the event.

Brian Cox played a convincing billionaire as Logan Roy on "Succession," flying in private jets and wearing luxurious clothes with ease. This is even more surprising given his less than luxurious upbringing. Cox grew up in a poor family. So poor, in fact, that once a week he would visit a local fish and chip restaurant to collect food scraps. "When it got really bad ... that would be our supper sometimes," Cox told The Sydney Morning Herald. As the actor flatly put it, he grew up "pretty poor. My father had a business; he was a shopkeeper." Things were going alright for the family until they lost nearly everything due to a bad investment by his father. "When he died, he only had 10 pounds sterling in the bank," Cox admitted. This made it even difficult for Cox and the family to keep their heads above water, financially speaking. "We got to a point where my mother, who had a widow's pension, had the state take care of her: we'd run out of money," he said.

Fortunately for Cox, he had a child's optimism through his upbringing. "It was tough, but I didn't even know it was tough," he confessed to The Courier. It wasn't until reflecting back to write a memoir that he realized how much his family struggled with money. Plus, he says the struggle gave him character. "People who don't know poverty haven't lived, quite frankly," Cox told The Guardian.

Brian Cox was used to having a lot of people in the house as he was one of five kids, along with both his mom and dad. Yet, sadly, Cox's dad died from cancer when the young boy was only 8 years old. While he didn't have a lot of time with his father, Cox still holds a few key memories and photos of him. "We were at a place called Latham, staying with friends of the family who had a rose-covered cottage. My dad is pinning a rose on my lapel. I was probably 4," Cox described to The New York Times about one of his most precious photos.

Beyond the tragedy of losing his dad, Cox grew up with a mother who was going through difficult times. "She had electric shock treatment and difficulty with her memory and didn't recover very well. She was always slightly eccentric but she became even more eccentric," Cox told The Courier. As a result, Cox was raised for a large portion of his childhood by his aunt and older sister. Unsurprising given his future career as an actor, some of Cox's earliest memories include being mesmerized by films. "I was classified as being educationally subnormal, so I dodged off school and went to the picture house and lost myself in movies," he told The Times. "I got my yearning to be an actor watching Brando and Spencer Tracy," he said about the Hollywood legends.

Starting from the age of 5 to the time he was 11 years old, Brian Cox attended St Mary's Forebank Primary school in Dundee, Scotland. While at primary school, he most distinctly remembers school's headmaster. "For the first three years I was taught by Marist Brothers, a lay teaching order that were pretty dynamic," Cox recalled to The Herald Scotland. "Unfortunately this teaching was interrupted when they moved on to a new institution; as a result, my poor school suffered," the future actor explained. 

Cox then moved on at 11 years old to attend St Michael's Junior Secondary School in Dundee. Instead of training to be an actor, St Michael's was teaching Cox more hands-on skills to one day be a labor worker in town. For example, "I remember having to make my first boat in woodwork," Cox said. Sadly, he revealed that he started to suffer in school. "My education was a bit of a disaster," Cox said. It was also unfulfilling. "It was torturous, unfulfilling work," Cox remembered. He stayed in secondary school for only a few years before dropping out the day before he turned 15 years old. Recalling his childhood, Cox confessed the worst year of his life "blends from year to year of my entire education."

After dropping out, Cox remained in town but aspired for bigger dreams. "As a kid with a strong spirit of adventure I couldn't wait to get away," he told The Sunday Times.

As a fresh teenage school dropout, Brian Cox quickly made his way to the theater. He stayed local and began to work at the Dundee Rep Theatre. After two years with the theater and learning the craft, Cox decided to pursue classes in acting.

Before starting drama school in England, Cox had one final vacation in Spain, where he ended up losing half a tooth. Still, he was ready for the next chapter in his life, especially coming from a small city in Scotland. "Making the adjustment from Dundee to London was a huge – but great – culture shock and I loved it. In the 1960s anything was possible and oiks like me were welcome," he explained to The Sunday Times. Cox attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts from the ages of 17 to 19 before he committed to professional acting. Thinking back to those days, Cox said he truly felt in the right place because while he didn't enjoy traditional schooling, "my real education was at drama school, which exposed me to a panoply of life experiences," he told The Herald Scotland. 

As with many starting actors, Cox was far from a wealthy celebrity. His lowest paying job was "right at the start, getting paid £4.10 a week as a stage manager," he confessed to The Sydney Morning Herald. Decades later in the '80s, Cox continued to act and he honed his craft even more at the British American Drama Academy.

Brian Cox has built a devoted fan base for his decades of acting work, yet, his hot takes on issues haven't always gone over well in the media. For example, he defended J.K. Rowling following the backlash of her statements on transgender people. While many officially canceled the "Harry Potter" author, Cox voiced his support. "I felt there was something deeply unjust" about how people went against Rowling, the actor said on "Piers Morgan Uncensored." In Scotland, Cox's homeland, the country voted on a bill in support of transgender rights. He said he was proud of his government for passing the law and when it came to his thoughts on Rowling, who opposed the bill, he was empathetic. "I don't like the way she's being treated, actually. I think she's entitled to her opinions," Cox explained on "Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg." In England, Cox said he was against the idea of a monarchy but also commented on Meghan Markle's experience in the royal family, "I mean, she knew what she was getting into," he told Haute Living.

Following Cox's role in "X2: X-Men United," the film's director Bryan Singer came under fire for his erratic behavior on the set of the film. The cast even staged an intervention for Singer during filming, on top of allegations of sexual misconduct in the past. Cox meanwhile, was grateful to Singer and believed the director was only "under a lot of strain" during production, he told Yahoo!

As a veteran actor, Brian Cox understandably has interacted with many famous actors throughout the years. He is also unafraid to give his opinions on these celebrities. For example, Edward Norton is "a nice lad, but a bit of a pain in the arse because he fancies himself a writer-director," Cox told The Sydney Morning Herald. As for Johnny Depp, Cox said everything about the actor was "so overblown, so overrated." Cox even criticized award shows that celebrate and honor his fellow actors. In the lead up to the Emmy Awards, where he was nominated for "Succession," Cox said, "I just think, 'I hope I don't win'. I don't want to do any of that s***." Cox also mentioned Ian McKellen and believed he lacked heart in many of his performances. Considering McKellen a friend, Cox then confessed, "I'm just worried that Ian McKellen will never speak to me again," he told The Guardian.

Cox even seemed to criticize his own "Succession" castmate Jeremy Strong, who uses method acting. "Oh, it's f*****g annoying. Don't get me going on it," Cox told Town & Country about Strong remaining in character even once the cameras stop rolling. Though Cox admitted Strong was a gifted actor, he also believed it would be better to "Just do the job. Don't identify," Cox told Variety. He also said it was perhaps a difference in culture. "I don't put up with all that American s***," Cox added.

When he was only around 20 years old, Brian Cox married Lilian Monroe-Carr. The marriage barely lasted a year and the two separated in 1967. Following his first marriage, Cox quickly linked up with fellow actor Caroline Burt and by 1968, the two were married. Burt was also from Scotland and came from a "middle upper class," Cox explained to The Telegraph. He had two children together with Burt but the couple also tragically had stillborn twins. The couple stayed together for nearly two decades before divorcing in 1986. According to Cox, he was unfaithful in his marriage and Burt initiated the divorce.

Looking back, Cox confessed he perhaps wasn't ready for marriage in the beginning. "I was just in my twenties when I got married to Caroline. Far too young. But I wanted the stability of marriage and kids. I wasn't one of those middle-class actor-types, taking drugs and letting it all hang out," Cox explained in his memoir "Putting the Rabbit in the Hat." He added that after a rough childhood, "I craved the normality of a home and a family." Even while he could explain the reasoning behind his early marriages, Cox also had positive things to say about his ex. "Caroline and I managed 18 years and we had two children, so it wasn't so bad," he added.

Following the divorce from his second wife Caroline Burt, Brian Cox met his next romantic interest in Hamburg, Germany. The actor was in town to play the titular character in Shakespeare's tragedy "King Lear" when he first met Nicole Ansari. "I met Brian at a party and there was just an instant connection – It was like meeting a soulmate. He understood me. We were just talking, talking, talking," she told The Herald Scotland. To show her support, Ansari even went eight different times to see Cox's theatrical performance. Nearly a decade later in 1999, she moved to London to live with Cox.

In 2002, the couple decided to get married in Las Vegas at the famous White Chapel. Ansari's mom was in attendance and even played the piano during the ceremony. "She knew I was Scottish, so she played the theme from 'Braveheart,'" Cox said on "Live with Kelly and Ryan."

While Cox and Ansari have been happily married since the start of the new millennium, some people comment on the age gap as she is 23 years younger than the actor. To that, Cox is undeterred. "What do they want me to say? Love is love, and Nicole is the love of my life," he wrote in his memoir "Putting the Rabbit in the Hat." Cox added about his wife, "Nicole was in her thirties when we met, and she'd already had a pretty amazing life. She'd been all over the world."

One of the most iconic movie characters ever is Hannibal Lecter, the cannibalistic serial killer chillingly portrayed by Anthony Hopkins. The actor won his first Best Actor Academy Award for the character in "The Silence of the Lambs" but surprisingly, the role was first portrayed on the big screen by Brian Cox. The 1986 movie "Manhunter" directed by Michael Mann and adapted from Thomas Harris' novel "Red Dragon" gave Cox the perfect opportunity to show off his impressive acting skills. "I did Hannibal Lecktor, it's this lack of empathy, this inability to empathize. When Will Petersen says to him: 'You're insane' – well, once you've gone down that road, there's no argument," Cox told The Guardian. Unsurprisingly, people began to ask Cox how he felt about Hopkins immortalizing the same character. "I think Tony did a great job. But then I think Hannibal is like that. It's like Hamlet. It's open to interpretation," Cox said about Hopkins.

Outside of the film, Cox was going through a rough personal time as he divorced his wife Caroline Burt the same year the film debuted. Even with the high profile movie role, Cox decided to delay a movie to Hollywood. "After my divorce I wanted to stay in England to be near the children. I have no regrets about not capitalizing on 'Manhunter,'" Cox told The Times. It wasn't until almost 10 years later that the actor moved to Hollywood for the next stage of his career.

When he's not playing an all-powerful father on TV in "Succession," Brian Cox is a real life dad. With his first wife Caroline Burt, the couple welcomed their first child, son Alan, in 1960. Cox and Burt then had their daughter Margaret in 1967. After Burt and Cox divorced and he remarried to Nicole Ansari, the actor continued to grow his family. The pair had two sons together, the oldest Orson followed by Torin. With his first set of children, Cox admitted he could have done better. "I always struggled with fatherhood because, well... to be honest, my job meant that I was hardly ever there," he explained in his memoir "Putting the Rabbit in the Hat." Cox was then 56 years old when he was again the father to a newborn. This time, he felt he improved. "With our two sons, I've tried to make up for all the things that happened before. These days, my career doesn't always come first. Maybe I was better prepared for it the second time around," Cox confessed.

The actor's oldest, Alan, went on to follow his father and become an actor. Cox's son was well known for his role as "Watson" in the 1985 film "Young Sherlock Holmes" and appeared in a wide range of projects, including the 2023 movie "Magic Mike's Last Dance." Margaret learned about a wide variety of cultures, living in St. Petersburg and earning a PhD in Japanese cinema.

Despite being one of the older actors in Hollywood, Brian Cox is open to discussing all topics, including sex. "I'm very fond of it," Cox enthusiastically revealed to The Sydney Morning Herald. He admitted that the '60s were especially memorable because in his opinion, "that was an extremely fine time for sexuality." As he grew older, the actor said that even though he still enjoyed sex, his body could sometimes not perform as it used to. Fortunately, Cox said that drugs and other remedies are key. "One should take advantage of whatever one can in order to do what one has to do," the actor said.

In his personal life, Cox is married and he and his wife Nicole Ansari live together on the top floor of an apartment complex in Brooklyn. Each has a separate bedroom, plus a shared studio on the 45th floor for romantic encounters. "Basically it's her room and I'm allowed to visit occasionally," he told The Guardian.

If he's not talking about current risqué details, Cox has a lifetime of stories. "You know, when I was a young actor I was touched up by Princess Margaret," he admitted. According to the actor, the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II put her hands inside his shirt during a visit to the Royal Court when he was 23 years old. "I excused myself and said: 'Thank you, ma'am,' and it came to a natural end," Cox said.

In his time outside of acting, Brian Cox has been generous in giving back to communities, from Brooklyn to Scotland by helping out in places like soup kitchens. He is especially focused on helping his home country, like fundraising for the National Trust for Scotland, which helps maintain important cultural sites.

He was also a patron of the Mid-Lin Daycare Center to help senior citizens in his hometown of Dundee. That is, until his interview with The Guardian where he admitted to using marijuana and said, "It's absolutely great and I recommend it to everyone – get stoned!" As a result, the senior care center dropped Cox. "Dundee is drug-ridden we just can't support Brian's views on cannabis. We are shocked and disappointed," the center's chairwoman told the Mirror about Cox. The famous actor from Dundee regretted his words looking back. "I think they were right to let me go because although I was being a bit silly in that interview, I do smoke," he told The Courier. "In my hometown we have fifth generation heroin addicts and that's just not good," he said about his comments promoting drug use.

It wasn't long into "Succession" that Logan Roy, played by Brian Cox, suffered a serious health issue and appeared to be on his way out of the show. Instead, the character recovered and became an essential part of the series. Along the way, the powerful father figure became one of the most beloved characters of the decade. "I didn't realize I'd created such an iconic individual," Cox told The Sydney Morning Herald. While some may consider the character's actions heartless or cold-blooded, especially towards his own children, Cox said it was all part of the job. "We all warp ourselves in some way ... that's what the actor has to understand," he said. Though it may have seemed all his experience led to a final, great role, Cox didn't seem content to wrap up his career with the character. "Logan Roy is only a stop on the way. It's not the ultimate for me," he explained.

Even as a veteran actor, Cox still felt he could go out in public and not be bothered. If an occasional fan thought they recognized him, Cox joked that he would deny having a famous face. Then, "since I've been playing this role [on Succession], it's been impossible," he admitted to The Hollywood Reporter. While he may not miss the intense fame, "I will miss the cast. I'll miss the wonderful, wonderful crew," the actor said on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

When an interviewer asked Brian Cox what his best-paid job was over the course of the actor's illustrious career, the answer was simple – McDonald's, he told The Sydney Morning Herald. Cox has been the narrator for several McDonald's commercials since the first during the 2020 Grammys telecast. Cox provided his signature gruff voice while talking about a hamburger and then singing the popular fast food chain's jingle. This was one of six commercials that Cox narrated in collaboration with ad agency Wieden & Kennedy New York, with each ad featuring the actor describing an ingredient in McDonald's quarter pound burger.

Stephen Colbert joked to Cox during an interview if the sting of "Succession" coming to an end would hurt less with his nice voiceover gig still intact. "Yes, that makes up for everything," Cox said on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." When the late night host pointed out that the commercial sounded like Cox's character Logan Roy enjoyed eating McDonald's, the actor likened Roy to Donald Trump's famous love the fast food chain. Continuing on about his role as the voice of McDonald's, Cox said, "clearly Stephen, you are a man of taste."