• The first episode of the fourth and final season of Succession is available this Monday on Prime Video, via the Warner Pass.
  • "Logan Roy gets exactly what he needs: peace," announced Brian Cox, the interpreter of Logan Roy at the Series Mania festival.
  • "This series will remain one of my best professional experiences, without a doubt (...). But it was time to conclude, "said Brian Cox, taking stock of four years in the skin of the ruthless patriarch.

The ruthless patriarch Logan Roy is back. Five years after presenting Succession at the opening of Series Mania, its interpreter Brian Cox was back in Lille. The actor has completed the circle as guest of honor of the 5th edition of the festival to present in preview the first episode of the fourth and final season of the flagship of HBO, available this Monday on Prime Video, via the new Warner Pass.

"This series will remain one of my best professional experiences, without a doubt. It was a perfect series in that respect. We have had incredible success and have been praised. But it was time to wrap it up," said Brian Cox, taking stock of four years of Succession. "What impresses me most about Jesse Armstrong is that he is aware of it, while most American series live well beyond their expiration date."

It is therefore without regret that the British will leave the role of media mogul: "HBO would have liked us to continue like Game of Thrones, but, thank God, that will not happen! I didn't see "Fuck off" saying for the next ten years. It's a wonderful series, with a wonderful cast, it's a gift. When I agreed to do this show, I was planning a peaceful cruise. I appreciated my anonymity, now everyone knows me! »

"They all want me to tell them, 'Fuck off.'"

Many fans who always ask him the same thing: "they all want me to tell them: 'Fuck of'". Brian Cox continued: "Let me tell you an anecdote. I was attending a #MeToo meeting organized by my friend, Rosanna Arquette. Ronan Farrow was reading excerpts from his book, and all the women in Hollywood had come to listen to him. The atmosphere was very intense. He leaves to applause and all eyes turn to me. Everyone asks me to tell them Logan's famous line. I talk to them about the irony of the situation: "While we come to talk about #MeToo, and I'm an old male and white dinosaur, you want me to say to you, 'fuck off', really?" »

"Everyone thinks he's horrible, but I don't agree with that," Cox said of Logan Roy. "He's vulnerable. His Achilles heel is his children. Everything would be easier if he did not like them, details the actor during a masterclass. There is something tragic in him, something unrealized of which he is not even aware. He is a romantic who has become disillusioned with life and his children, and has become cynical. And to give his opinion on the ending reserved for his character: "All I can tell you about this ending is that Logan Roy gets exactly what he needs: peace. »

"A moral tale and a satire that warns us"

The actor shares a common point with his character, both were born in Dundee, Scotland. It was in this city that he shot part of the documentary How the Other Half Lives, in which he questions the inequality of wealth: "I wanted to make a film that was the corollary of Succession. As a child, I experienced poverty after my father died. I remember going to the local fish and chip store to collect leftovers to eat. What a huge irony for me to play years later one of the richest men in the world! »

In contrast to the character he plays, Brian Cox defines himself as a "socialist". "This world is very unfair. That's why Succession is very important to me: it's a moral tale and a satire that warns us," adds the actor. A Brian Cox who claims not to have felt any particular emotion during the last succession of Succession: "It's been sixty years that I've been doing this job, I've seen others. Logan is definitely one of my favorite roles. No doubt. I'm an actor, you know, I'm going to do other things! But I'm going to have to work hard not to disappoint. »

Our file on the Series Mania festival

Because the 76-year-old actor does not intend to retire and is "looking forward to the next chapter": "I can't wait to return to the theater. I plan to do a piece about the composer Bach. I'll also play an aging patriarch and actor in a revival of American playwright Eugene O'Neill's Long Journey to Night. Brian Cox also decided to direct his first fiction feature film, Glenrothan, the story of two brothers who owned a distillery in Scotland: "I'm doing it now because then I'll be gaga! »

  • Series Mania
  • Entertainment
  • Series
  • HBO
  • Amazon Prime Video