LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Renowned actor Brian Cox recently shared his straightforward and no-nonsense approach to acting in a candid conversation with Seth Meyers. The 'Succession' star, 77, advised on the show to avoid "bumping into furniture and learn your f****** lines."
This "basic principle of acting," as Cox puts it, may appear elementary, but it encapsulates the wisdom gained from his extensive career in the field.
Brian Cox shares the 'basic principle of acting'
Brian Cox appeared on the late-night show to discuss his new online acting course for BBC Maestro. In this course, he imparts "his unique methodology into tangible insights and techniques" that students can incorporate into their own craft and career, as described in the course overview.
Cox is well-known for his forthright views on acting. Meyers highlighted one of the memorable lines from his course, reflecting Cox’s candid approach: "Just learn your f****** lines and don’t bump into the furniture."
Cox added, "That is the basic principle of acting. It’s all bollocks after that. But don’t bump into the furniture and learn your f****** lines."
Meyers later told Cox that learning lines "did not come naturally" to him. The actor replied, "No, I was not a good learner."
What is Brian Cox up to now?
Cox is currently showcasing his talent in Prime Video’s reality competition series, '007: Road to a Million'.
His next venture involves stepping into the shoes of another patriarch, James Tyrone, in the West End production of 'Long Day’s Journey Into Night'. This role will see him once again mastering lines and bringing a complex character to life on stage.
Brian Cox on learning lines
About learning lines, Cox said, "I'm dreading it. Because I've got to go through the learning line process." He added, "As you get older, the synopses are not quite working in the same way."
The 77-year-old icon agreed on the show that beautiful writing makes the learning process easier. He said, "Of course, because if there's a poetic element to the writing, you immediately go to that. That's why Shakespeare is so great. It's structured so wonderfully well."
He further noted, "Free prose is hard to learn because, especially, [there's] a lot that's interrupted when you're doing interrupted lines. And it's not necessary. But free prose is difficult." Cox added, "Anything that's got a poetic bent to it, it's helpful."
