Brian Cox took aim at Margot Robbie in a new interview with the Times UK, saying he didn’t agree with her being cast as Cathy in the new adaptation of “Wuthering Heights.”
“‘Keith Cliff! It’s me, Cathy!’” Cox said in “a cod Australian accent,” mocking Robbie, who was once in the Australian soap “Neighbours.” “‘How ya doing, Keith? Awright?’ ‘Yeah, I’m awright!’”
Cox, who noted the 1939 adaptation of the Emily Bronte book is one of his favorite movies, reportedly laughed before he added, “Margot Robbie is far too beautiful for that role. I mean, I think there should be something more of the Gypsy about her but it’s wrong of me to judge. It may be a brilliant film.”
In the new interview published Friday, Cox also touched upon his beef with Daniel Day-Lewis, which started when he criticized his “Succession” co-star Jeremy Strong’s method acting in 2023. Lewis, who was Strong’s inspiration, told Cox last year to get off his “soapbox.”
When asked if he’s reached out to Day-Lewis, Cox had a cheeky response. He said he hadn’t “because it’s got nothing to do with Dan Day-Lewis. Dan Day-Lewis, he’s discreet. He never upsets [the filming process].”
The Emmy Award winner added that he didn’t want to talk more about Strong, 47, because his former on-screen son has “begged me to stop talking about him.”
“He’s a good actor, Jeremy. He’s a wonderful actor. It’s just all the bollocks that goes with it. You watch children — they don’t say, ‘What’s my motivation?’ They just do it!”
And this isn’t the first time the typically unfiltered actor has ranted against A-list actors. In the past, he’s taken shots at stars like Johnny Depp and Ian McKellen in interviews and his 2021 memoir.
As the Times UK pointed out, the “Succession” star previously called Depp “so overblown” and “so overrated,” while previously admitting he was relieved he turned down Jonathan Pryce’s role in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise.
As for McKellen, Cox said previously that his “X2” co-star’s acting is “not to my taste.”
Cox also once took aim at Edward Norton, whom he said is “a pain in the arse,” and Kevin Spacey, whom he described as “a stupid, stupid man.”
Directors and writers haven’t ever been safe from Cox’s wrath, either.
The 79-year-old called Quentin Tarantino “meretricious,” Michael Caton-Jones “a complete arsehole” and David Hare a “see you next Tuesday.”
In addition, Cox, who played Winston Churchill in the 2017 biopic “Churchill,” once vented about Gary Oldman winning the Best Actor Oscar for his role as the UK Prime Minister in “Darkest Hour,” released the same year.
Oldman’s performance, Cox said, was “cobblers” and “a crowd-pleasing farrago.”
Cox was asked by the Times UK if being so blunt had lost him friends or caused him problems.
“Well, I don’t know yet if it’s caused me problems,” he replied with a laugh. “I mean, my wife keeps saying, ‘Brian, be careful. Brian, be careful.’”
Cox added, “I think, ‘F–k it, I don’t want to be careful anymore! I’ll be 80 this year. F–k it! I’m gonna say what I want to say.’”
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