Brian Cox reveals his pick for next James Bond: “He’s very real, he’s got no crap about him”

It’s been two years since Logan Roy died in the final series of Succession. Do you miss playing him?

No, I never miss people I’ve played. The residue of him will always stay with me because of the swearing aspect, which people latch onto, but the great thing about acting is that it’s endlessly shifting. I’ve done many things since then.

Will he always be your defining role, though?

I don’t think so: Henry Moore wouldn’t say: “This sculpture defines me.” He would say, “This is all my work.”

You’re back playing the Controller on the second series of 007: Road to a Million, in which contestants compete in James Bond-themed challenges to win cash. You always wanted to play a Bond villain — so did you do any prep to get into character?

No, no, I just turn up and do the lines and try not to bump into the furniture!

Are you a fan of reality shows like Traitors and Race across the World, which are a similar format to Road to a Million?

You have to be careful, because there could be a sadistic thing about watching people constantly fail – “They got it wrong, oh, good.” I don’t go in for that, and as the Controller, all I’m concerned about is that the right two people win. It’s about the human dilemma of choice: do I go this way or that way? That’s what provides the drama and entertainment.

Do you enjoy playing a villain?

I enjoy the job, but I never think of the characters I play as villains. I see them as humans who make mistakes or have avarice. On Succession, everybody said, “Logan’s such and such,” and I kept saying, “You’ve got him all wrong.” Logan’s a toughie but all he wants is one of his children to take over his business, yet none of them are any good. They’re pretty horrible people, and Logan has responsibility for the way they’ve been brought up, but he’s not cruel. My villains have all been fairly tame – apart from the ones who are psychologically disturbed.

Is there such a thing as a true villain in real life?

There’s certainly a lot of people around who I feel are villainous. With what’s happening in Ukraine, Putin is a definite villain, for my money. I think some of the American behaviour has definitely been unthinking. What’s tragic is that America was built on the notion of egalitarianism, and the present administration don’t want us to be equal. There’s an extremity that’s going on: a kind of oligarchy and a dedication to selfishness, which is not progressive for the world.

Who do you think would be a good James Bond, now that Daniel Craig has stepped down?

Well, I’m not scanning the papers every day going, “Goodness, what’s the latest?’ Sean Connery was fantastic, as were Roger Moore, Pierce [Brosnan] and Daniel [Craig], and the next Bond will probably be equally good and have a unique individuality of his own – or her own, if it’s a woman. There’s so much up for grabs in terms of redefining Bond and how you can bring him up to date. It’s only natural that it goes through changes because we start off young and end up old. Is Cillian Murphy being recommended? I think that would be interesting. I like Cillian. He’s very real, he’s got no crap about him.

What’s next for you?

My voiceover agent also happens to be Joanna Lumley’s agent, and Joanna has been doing these one-woman tours which have been rather good, so he mentioned it to me. Now I’m doing one called It’s All about Me!, where I’m going around talking about my work.

Have you considered doing more comedy?

Yes. As I get older, I just want to laugh. I think that’s all that’s left. I don’t particularly want to do heavy dramas, although I will always be doing heavy dramas because of who I am, but I just love to make people laugh. Life is ludicrous and absurd, isn’t it? So, I’m a sucker for comedy.

I love game shows like Would I Lie to You? I’m a big fan of Lee Mack, who’s smart and funny, and David Mitchell, whose extremities and Englishness really make me laugh. I only recently caught up on Peep Show, which David did with Jesse [Armstrong, who created Succession] and that was absolutely brilliant. Jesse’s writing, including The Thick of It as well, has that comic element of looking at human beings and saying, “My God, they’re so stupid,” and I love that.

Are you an avid TV watcher?

I do love watching television. I get glued to it, especially because I live quite a lot of the time in America, but I’m spending more and more time here now, and I love British TV. I was wondering why I watch so much television. And I realised that when my dad died [when he was eight], they didn’t let me go to his funeral, so they put me in front of a television, and it was comforting. So TV became a great comforter – and it still is for me to this day.

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