‘Succession’ Star Sarah Snook Details Brian Cox’s ‘Terrifying’ Rages on Set
Emmy-winning actress Sarah Snook has been opening up about her time on HBO’s Succession, revealing that her co-star, Brian Cox, had a habit of “terrifying” outbursts on set.
Snook, who won an Emmy for her role as Shiv on the hit HBO comedy-drama, recently appeared on Times Radio and was asked what it was like working with Cox, who played her on-screen father, Logan Roy.
“He has a habit of sometimes going into a false — or could it be real, who knows? — diabetic rage, where he’ll go [growl] all of a sudden,” Snook shared, per Deadline.
“I think part of it’s a little of trying to just jolt the energy of the set and rustle a few feathers, get it going and moving faster,” she added. “The quality of his voice can be very terrifying sometimes, for sure. Thunderous.”
This isn’t the first time Succession cast members have talked about Cox’s thunderous on set outbursts. In an interview with Esquire last year, Kieran Culkin (Roman Roy) said Cox was prone to “screaming.”
“But with Brian, it’s hilarious because there’s no actual weight behind it,” Culkin explained. “Even if he is actually frustrated and he’ll yell something, it just sort of makes everyone chuckle. He’s a little bit hungry and he’s impatient. It’s late. Get him a sandwich, and let’s roll, please.”
Cox, who has type two diabetes, was asked about Culkin’s comments when appearing on ITV’s This Morning. “Well, yeah, I do get hangry because I’m diabetic,” he admitted.
@esquire We all get hangry sometimes. #KieranCulkin #BrianCox #LoganRoy #Succession ♬ original sound – Esquire
Justine Lupe, who played Willa Ferreyra, also revealed that working with Cox could be “incredibly intimidating,” both on screen and off.
“Brian has moments of being incredibly intimidating on and off camera. He’s got a power to him as a person and I think he knows that about himself,” Lupe told Times Radio last year. “That being said, he’s also one of the more kind people that I’ve interacted with on set… He was always so supportive and sweet.”
“Brian has moments of being incredibly intimidating on and off camera, he’s got a power to him as a person.”
Succession’s Willa, Justine Lupe, talks about what it was like to work with Brian Cox on #TimesRadio.
Tune in Monday at 2pm to https://t.co/xhUnEXLY8D@mariellaf1 pic.twitter.com/PHEaKZQfKQ
— Times Radio (@TimesRadio) May 28, 2023
As for Cox, he’s previously spoken about his time on set and his frustrations with Jeremy Strong‘s (Kendall) method acting style. “He’s a very good actor,” Cox told Town & Country. “And the rest of the ensemble is all okay with this. But knowing a character and what the character does is only part of the skill set… It’s f***ing annoying. Don’t get me going on it.”
Succession wrapped up its fourth and final season on May 28, 2023; it led with 27 nominations and six wins at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series.
Snook, who received critical acclaim for her part as Shiv, told Times Radio she almost turned down the role initially.
“[Shiv] wasn’t familiar to me in a way that I felt that I could bring something that was great to the role that I found interesting enough to want to play,” she stated.
She continued, “I didn’t know, if being the only younger female in the cast at that time, whether I would be a prop and tried to be made to the beautified version of me that the female character could be, then just sort of pushed to the side. I’m not interested in playing roles like that, so I was fearful of things being trapped.”
Snook is currently starring in The Picture of Dorian Gray at London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket.
