“It was terrible,” Cox said at HistFest in London. “A truly terrible performance Joaquin Phoenix. It's really scary. I don't know what he was thinking. He's to blame for this, and Ridley Scott didn't help him at all. I'm telling you, I'd do better than Phoenix. You can't say it's a good drama. No, it's all lies,” Cox lamented.
The Scottish actor also commented on sacrificing historical truth to create an engaging blockbuster. Scott often referred to this during promotions “Napoleon”, and even verbally attacked people who pointed out inaccuracies in his films. Cox, meanwhile, criticized another production for its misrepresentations. “'Braveheart: Braveheart' it's all nonsense. Mel Gibson was great, but it's all lies,” he lamented.
Cox appeared at HistFest to promote his performance in the new adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's play Long Day's Twilight, which will be performed in the West End. When asked if he was not afraid that critics would compare his performance to the role of Logan Roy in “Succession”, the actor replied in a similar tone.
“It's stupid. Why make such comparisons? It's so obvious. A lot of critics are stupid. They really are. Theater criticism is going to the bottom. When I remember the great critics of the past, today's critics cannot compare to them,” Cox said. .
The actor also had warm words about the acting method, which he advocates, among others Jeremy StrongIn “Succession” playing one of Logan's sons. “No, it's all nonsense. Just nonsense. We are transmitters – that's what we do as actors. We transmit energy,” he said, and then emphasized that gathering information about his character is more important than repeating every gesture and grimace of his character. “You have to do your homework. It's a pleasure. You collect all the information about Churchill and thus build a picture of the person he was.”