Available:*
Material Type | Library | Call Number | Item Barcode | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book | Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library | BIOGRAPHY COX, BR. | 31330009141866 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Carlisle - Gleason Public Library | BIO COX | 32117002108821 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Chelmsford Public Library | BIOG/COX | 31480011538136 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Dunstable Free Public Library | B COX | 32118001066218 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Essex - T.O.H.P. Burnham Free Library | B COX | 32119000429563 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Ipswich Public Library | 921 COX, BRIAN | 32122002938490 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Littleton - Reuben Hoar Library | B COX, B | 39965002383924 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... North Reading - Flint Memorial Library | BIOGRAPHY COX B | 31550002485529 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Rockport Public Library | B COX | 32129002477841 | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Westford - J.V. Fletcher Library | B COX | 31990004831629 | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2022 BY THE NEW YORKER
The incredible rags-to-riches story of acclaimed actor Brian Cox, best known as Succession 's Logan Roy, from a troubled, working-class upbringing in Scotland to a prolific career across theatre, film and television.
From Hannibal Lecktor in Manhunter to media magnate Logan Roy in HBO's Succession , Brian Cox has made his name as an actor of unparalleled distinction and versatility. We are familiar with him on screen, but few know of his extraordinary life story. Growing up in Dundee, Scotland, Cox lost his father when he was just eight years old and was brought up by his three elder sisters in the aftermath of his mother's nervous breakdowns and ultimate hospitalization. After joining the Dundee Repertory Theatre at the age of fifteen, you could say the rest is history -- but that is to overlook the enormous effort that has gone into the making of the legend we know today.
Rich in emotion and meaning, with plenty of laughs along the way, this seminal autobiography captures both Cox's distinctive voice and his very soul.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this candid work, Scottish actor Cox (Salem to Moscow), of HBO's Succession, chronicles the triumphs and setbacks in his distinguished career. Growing up in 1950s Dundee in the shadow of his father's death (who died suddenly when Cox was eight), Cox found refuge from a fraught home life with his mentally frail mother by going to the movies. It was watching Saturday Night and Saturday Morning one day when he finally realized his calling: "It was all about working-class people.... I thought, My God, that could be me." From here, Cox runs through the most memorable moments of his acting career, from his humble beginnings at the Dundee Repertory Theatre to his film debut in the 1971 drama Nicholas and Alexandra to being awe-struck by Peter O'Toole while playing Agamemnon in The Iliad. Cox isn't one to sugarcoat his opinions; for instance, Succession, he writes, sometimes "focuses too much on the comedy at the expense of what is, essentially, a brilliant drama." Meanwhile, fellow actor Steven Seagal "suffers from that Donald Trump syndrome of thinking himself far more... talented than he actually is." At the same time, he doesn't shy away from his own flaws or his struggles with "deep-seated insecurity." While this doesn't exactly break new ground as a celebrity memoir, its prickly honesty is delightfully refreshing. (Jan.)
Kirkus Review
A versatile actor recounts his life's work. At 75, award-winning actor Cox looks back on a long career in theater, movies, and TV, most recently in HBO's Succession. He grew up in Dundee, Scotland, the youngest of five children, "besieged by the forces of tribalism and the Catholic faith." When he was 8, his father died, leaving the family "dirt poor" and his mother suicidal. "I don't believe that you have to live through tragedy in order to portray it," Cox reflects, "but it does help clarify things for you." At 17, while enrolled at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he attended dress rehearsals at the National Theatre, watching the likes of Glenda Jackson, Peter O'Toole, Laurence Olivier, and Maggie Smith. "Witnessing this kind of magic," writes the author, made him yearn to be part of that world. From working odd jobs at the Dundee Repertory Theatre, he rose to eminence on all of London's major stages. Cox portrays with sly wit the actors he admires (Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, among them) and those he does not (Sylvester Stallone, Michael Gambon) and the many directors he worked with, including the "consummate cineaste" Spike Lee, diffident Woody Allen, Royal Shakespeare Company founder Peter Hall, and titan John Schlesinger, whose Julius Caesar, writes the author, "was a misbegotten nightmare if ever there was one." When Hollywood beckoned, Cox happily left England: "I went from being a lead actor on the London stage to a supporting turn in Hollywood, and I did it with a big smile on my face." Besides chronicling his career, the author is forthright about his shortcomings as a husband and father. Above all, he extolls the exhausting, energizing thrill of performing: "You never stop wanting to show off, working out that insecurity, expiating yourself of your guilt," and basking in the audience's acclaim. Wisdom, a modicum of modesty, and delicious gossip make for an entertaining memoir. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Cox is currently blowing up the small screen as Logan Roy in Succession, HBO's award-winning series currently in its third season, for which he won a Golden Globe Award. His candid and engaging memoir takes readers from his humble beginnings in Dundee, Scotland, where at 15 he joined his first theater group in 1965 to Broadway and West End stages and sets and locations for film and television. Cox's acting resume is one of almost infinite variety. His theater roles include the title characters in Shakespeare's King Lear and Titus Andronicus, roles in Conor McPherson's St. Nicholas and Dublin Carol, Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll, and Robert Shenkkan's The Great Society, in which he played Lyndon B. Johnson. This versatile and prolific actor's film credits include Rob Roy, The Boxer, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, The Escapist, and X-2: X-Men United. On television he has appeared in HBO's Deadwood series, Showtime's The Big C, and in NBC's Frasier. Theater fans and viewers of Succession will enjoy the personal stories this accomplished actor and raconteur has to tell.