Brian Cox Weighs in on Season 4 of SUCCESSION, Logan Roy’s Disappointment, Rupert Murdoch’s Engagement, and Much More

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Sometimes it’s hard to tell which is more entertaining: Brian Cox’s award-winning portrayal of grumpy media mogul Logan Roy in HBO’s SUCCESSION, or Cox’s comments on just about anything in the interviews he has given through the years. In a virtual roundtable interview this week promoting the fourth and final season of SUCCESSION, which debuts Sunday, March 26 on Crave, the 76-year-old Scottish actor was in top verbal form yet again. The interview happened to be taking place on the same day when news spread that 92-year-old multi-billionaire Rupert Murdoch is engaged again. To be clear, while the fictional Logan Roy is not specifically based on Rupert Murdoch, the former was partially inspired by the latter. Both created a media empire, and both have long-running questions about which one of their kids – if any – is best suited to inherit the throne. So given the opportunity, it had to be asked if Cox had any thoughts about Murdoch getting engaged again at age 92. Cox gave an answer that was both heartfelt and hilarious, and here it is, word for word: “Well, it’s ironic, you know, I’ve just lost my sister – she passed away two weeks ago, and she was 92,” Cox said. “And she really, sadly, had come to the end of her innings. Clearly, Rupert doesn’t think he has come to the end of his innings. But nothing is certain, Rupert. Be careful what you wish for. You have to be very careful. It could be his final undoing. Or he just goes on. You know, quite frankly, I don’t give a f—. I really don’t give a f— about Rupert Murdoch, or what he thinks, or what he wants to do. I really don’t. He has been questionable most of my life in terms of the kind of journalism that he has encouraged, which is not really what I think journalism is, or should be. So I don’t really give a f— about whether he’s engaged or not. Good luck! Good luck, Rupert! I hope it does well for you. Even if it lasts 20 minutes, I hope it’s good.” Cox never disappoints with his “hot takes” on things. But as Season 4 of SUCCESSION begins, Cox’s character, Logan Roy, continues to be disappointed with just about everything in his world, particularly his children, who he dismissively refers to as “the rats” in the first episode. “I think they’ve become extremely warped, all of them, and I think they’ve been warped by wealth, and by desire for the wrong things,” Cox said. “Logan, he created this business, and he created it to go in a certain direction. I don’t think it has gone in the direction that initially he thought it would go, because I think that he is an exceedingly disappointed man. So there’s a lot of cynicism in the business, and also a lot of the down view of the human experiment, that, you know, it’s not a good experiment, and human beings do not honour it. And so, f— it. That’s why he says f— all the time, because he says, human beings are not worth it. And I disagree with him. I think we should attend to that more and more and more. He doesn’t. So therefore, his children don’t, either. And they can’t. But audiences love it. They love that debate.” When asked if he foresees Logan, or any of the Roy offspring, ever being content or satisfied, Cox did not paint a rosy picture. “I don’t think they’ll ever be happy, because their happiness is based on something which is transient, and not truthful,” he said. “You cannot be happy if you tell lies, because that undoes you at every turn. I mean, people survive on that, but they don’t contribute to the human experience.” Cox is living proof that it’s possible to both love playing a character, but also hate how that character sees the world. “I’ve been playing this extraordinary man, wonderful character to play, and just the best time ever, but the thing is, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, and as a socialist, that’s what affects me,” Cox said. “That’s what I personally, Brian Cox, can’t stand about these characters, who are so insensitive to what’s happening in the world. And they’ve kind of retrenched themselves in a way, and they’re getting away with it on a daily basis, and they shouldn’t.” So what will Brian Cox miss most about playing Logan Roy? “Well, I don’t know,” Cox said, cheekily. “I’m not missing it yet.” Fair point – there’s still a full season of SUCCESSION to go! billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv