Brian Cox has been vocal about his lack of patience for Method Acting but will be doing precisely that from now on in HBO’s Succession.
HBO’s Succession is the talk of the town this week with its big twist. It was probably one of the best hours of television this year. One of the storms in a teacup that journalists have stirred up has been Brian Cox‘s remarks about Method Acting and his lack of patience for it. Cox is a classically trained Shakespearean actor who likes to stick to the script and then stop being the character when the cameras stop rolling. He rightly points out it’s better for an actor’s mental health that way.
As you probably know, much had been made of Jeremy Strong, who plays Logan Roy’s (Cox) oldest son, immersing himself in the grueling and traumatic emotional states that Kendall Roy undergoes in the show to play him most authentically. Method Acting was created in Russia by Konstantin Stanslavski and popularized in the West after the Second World War by acting coach Lee Strasberg in, where else, New York City. It is still controversial in acting circles as systems of acting are distinguished between Method and Classical. Classical is text-based, where the actors learn the script and find nuances within it. Method involves the actor immersing themselves in the entire emotional being of the character, even going off-script to actually be the character rather than perform as the character. It’s often considered being, not acting.
Now we can report that Cox will be using Method Acting from this point on in Succession. It’s a natural evolution of Logan Roy, and the writing process where going Method is the best approach for him to play. Logan Roy is DEAD. Dead… dead… dead. When you’re dead, you don’t do anything. Logan Roy has been taken off the stage, though his presence will continue to loom over the show and the lives of all the characters since everything in the show happens directly because of him. And it would take no effort at all. Logan Roy is not only dead but no longer around. Cox is no longer on the show (barring perhaps a flashback scene to Logan’s past). Brian Cox will be Method Acting as Logan Roy because Logan is no more and not on the show. You can’t get more Method or authentic than that! The best kind of Method Acting is not having to do anything at all. We’re sure Brian Cox would agree.
You can watch the rest of this season of Succession to experience Brian Cox’s Method Acting on HBO.
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