Brian Cox blasts 'wacky' Joaquin Phoenix's 'terrible' “Napoleon” performance

"I would have played it a lot better than Joaquin Phoenix, I tell you that," Cox said.

Brian Cox isn't too keen on Joaquin Phoenix's turn in Napoleon.

During an event at HistFest in London over the weekend, the famously outspoken Succession star tore into his fellow actor's portrayal of the legendary French leader in Ridley Scott's 2023 historical epic.

"Terrible. It's terrible. A truly terrible performance by Joaquin Phoenix," Cox opined, according to the Evening Standard. "It really is appalling. I don't know what he was thinking. I think it's totally his fault, and I don't think Ridley Scott helps him. I would have played it a lot better than Joaquin Phoenix, I tell you that. You can say it's good drama. No — it's lies."

Representatives for Cox and Phoenix didn't immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly's request for comment Wednesday; a rep for Scott declined to comment.

Phoenix and Cox both appeared in the 2013 film Her, though the latter actor only provided a voice performance, so it's unclear whether their paths crossed during production. Scott, meanwhile, has produced two projects that starred Cox: 2009's Tell Tale and 2016's Morgan.

Cox reportedly went on to mock Phoenix's name. "I think he's well named," he said. "Joaquin… wackeen… wacky. It's a sort of wacky performance."

The Bourne Identity star wasn't done there — he also criticized the historical accuracy of Mel Gibson's 1995 Oscar winner Braveheart, in which Cox played a supporting role. "Braveheart is a load of nonsense," he said. "Mel Gibson was wonderful, but it's a load of lies. He never impregnated the French princess. It is a bollocks, that film."

Cox criticized actors who stay in character in their downtime as well. "Oh no, that's all bollocks," he said. "It's a kind of nonsense. We're transmitters. That's what we are as actors. We transmit energy."

He added, "You have to do your homework. That's the delight of it — the information you get because you're reading everything about Churchill and you're building up a picture of who this person was."

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Related content:

• Ridley Scott credits Joker for his casting of 'little demon' Joaquin Phoenix in Napoleon

• Ridley Scott filmed Napoleon like a general: 'I plan it, in a funny kind of way, like a battle'

• Succession's Brian Cox says he's 'dazzled' by people who 'want to be told to f--- off!'

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