Brian Cox Roasts Johnny Depp, Reveals Why He Passed on Pirates of the Caribbean Role

Brian Cox had been in the business of acting for over fifty years before getting his biggest breakout role as Logan Roy in HBO's Succession – and in all that time, he's never been shy about giving his opinion on other actors. Now Brian Cox has shared a few thoughts about Johnny Depp's acting technique, and why it may have contributed to Cox not joining Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise in one of its most pivotal roles! 

Disney once courted Brian Cox to play Governor Weatherby Swann (father to Kiera Knightley's Elizabeth Swann) in the original Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Curse of the Black Pearl; however, Cox passed and eventually, the role ended up in the hands of actor Jonathan Pryce (The Crown). According to Cox's interview with The Guardian (UK), he passed on the role of Gover Swann for two reasons: the role was boring, and Johnny Depp was not someone that Cox wanted to work with: 

"It [Pirates of the Caribbean] would have been a moneyspinner but, of all the parts in the film, it [Governor Swann] was the most thankless," Cox explained. Then he got to the subject of the film's lead actor: "And Depp, personable though I'm sure he is, is so overblown – I mean Edward Scissorhands! Let's face it, if you come on with hands like that and pale, scarred-face makeup, you don't have to do anything. And he didn't."

With that kind of point of view, there's little doubt that Brian Cox dodged a bullet by not doing Pirates of the Caribbean: if he didn't like Depp's quirky performance as Edward Scissorhands, the actor's version of Captain Jack Sparrow would've probably driven Cox mad. Everything worked out for the best: Cox filled the years of Pirates of the Caribbean's production, release, and ultimate box office success by making a string of hit films – many of which are still considered modern (cult-)classics. That list includes J-horror pioneer The Ring, Spike Jonze's Adaptation, Spike Lee's 25th Hour, Wolfgang Petersen's Troy, and The Bourne Supremacy. Disney would go on to eat off of the Pirates franchise for years to come, including an upcoming sixth film in the franchise. 

It doesn't take long to peruse the history of Brian Cox interviews to realize that this isn't the harshest thing he's ever said about an actor, director, studio or a particular production. Ironically enough, the overlap between Cox's real-life personality and screen persona as Logan Roy is often seamless, arguably calling his own acting workload into question. 

Succession is streaming on Max. The final season earned Brian Cox a 2023 Emmy Award nomination for "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series".