BRIAN COX
Date of Birth: June 1, 1946
This Dundee, Scotland native began his professional stage career at 14
when he joined Dundee Repertory Theatre as an apprentice. Two years later,
he enrolled in the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.
Over the next few years, Cox trained and performed at LAMDA, Royal
Lyceum Edinburgh and the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Focusing much of his
time on Shakespearian plays, Cox soon built a solid stage resumé that
included As You Like It, the title role in Peer Gynt, Romeo &
Juliet, Othello, When We Dead Awaken, In Celebration,
Hedda Gabler and Cromwell.
After years on stage, Cox started directing stage performances such as The
Man with a Flower in His Mouth and The Stranger, both in 1973,
and I Love My Love in 1982 for the London stage.
Cox landed roles in a number of film and television productions, but it
wasn't until 1986's Manhunter in which he played Dr. Hannibal Lecter
that film audiences sat up and took notice. In the years that followed, Cox
appeared in several TV movies, mini-series and specials both in England and
the US including King Lear, Florence Nightingale and Beryl
Markham: A Shadow on the Sun. In 2000 he played Reichmarshal Hermann
Goering in the telefilm, Nuremberg, for which he earned multiple awards
and nominations from the Golden Globes, Emmys and BAFTA.
With his busy television and theater schedule through the years, Cox's film
appearances have been sporadic at best. He has, however, showcased a diverse
array of characters in film including a policeman investigating a plot to kill the British prime minister in Hidden Agenda (1990), a wealthy supporter of the title character's rival in Iron Will (1994) and characters in The Prince of Jutland (1994), Braveheart (1995), Rushmore (1998), Adaptation (2002), X2: X-Men United (2003), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), and Coriolanus (2012).
Cox has two children—Alan, who has also become an actor, and daughter Margaret, from his 18-year marriage to Caroline Burt, which ended in 1986. He has another son, born in 2002, with second wife, Nicole.
He was awarded the C.B.E. (Commander of the order of the British Empire) in the 2002 New Year's Eve Honours List. Cox has spent some time passing along his skills to future thespians through courses at Harvard University, Cal Arts and via a video training course, "Acting and Tragedy."