At an event, Brian Cox had harsh words for Joaquin Phoenix’s acting performance in the historical drama Napoleon.
Who is Brian Cox? Brian Cox is a well-known, award-winning actor who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films and major series. He is known, for example, as William Stryker in X-Men 2 or as Logan Roy in Succession.
However, according to The Standard, the actor recently let loose at HistFest and harshly criticized Joaquin Phoenix (Joker, Her) for his portrayal in Napoleon, a historical drama by Ridley Scott that was released in November 2023.
Here is the trailer for Napoleon featuring Joaquin Phoenix:
Brian Cox had harsh words for the Napoleon actor
“Terrible. It’s terrible. A truly terrible performance by Joaquin Phoenix,” Brian Cox said about the actor’s portrayal of Napoleon.
He further attacked the Joker star: “It’s really dreadful. I don’t know what he was thinking.”
The Succession star saw the blame for the poor performance solely on the actor and believed he would have delivered a much better Napoleon himself:
I think it’s completely his fault, and I don’t believe Ridley Scott is helping him. I would have played the role much better than Joaquin Phoenix, I can tell you that.
One can say it’s a good drama. No – it’s lies.
Brian Cox, source: The Standard
Afterwards, Brian Cox went a step further and mocked the name of the Napoleon actor: “I think he has a good name. Joaquin… whackeen… whacky. It’s a quirky performance.”
You will see Joaquin Phoenix this year in Joker 2: Folie à deux. You can read more about it here with our colleagues from Filmstarts: First trailer for Joker 2 with Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix is here: All info about the musical sequel, including release and storyline
But it wasn’t just Joaquin Phoenix’s performance that he examined that evening. Brian Cox also commented on Braveheart and criticized how little the film adhered to historical events:
“Braveheart is a bunch of nonsense,” the actor said. “Mel Gibson was wonderful, but it’s a bunch of lies. He never impregnated the French princess. It’s nonsense, this film.”
The director of Napoleon, Ridley Scott, has also already shot back in an interview against the French critics who negatively evaluated the film Napoleon: The director of Alien reacts to criticism of his new film: “The French don’t even like themselves”
