Putting the Rabbit in the Hat

November 22, 2021
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.

January 7, 2022

At the age of 75, Cox has carved himself a place on stage, on television, and in film, where his face and voice, if not always his name, have become widely recognizable. In this autobiography, Cox relates many tales of his career on both sides of the Atlantic with a signature style and language, often speaking directly to the reader. He describes growing up in Scotland; his father died when Cox was young, and his mother lived with mental illness. As a teen, Cox pursued a career in repertory theater that has been the constant thread throughout his life. His memoir is both an entertaining and anecdotal tour through his career and a perceptive piece of introspection on his personal life; he admits to not being "truly present" as a parent, yet being "in the moment" is what makes him such an exceptional actor. He has a marvelous way of sprinkling less than glowing yet informed opinions on various films and actors throughout the text without seeming critical (most of the time), and it's nice to hear someone being truly forthright. VERDICT An enjoyable and conversational backstage pass to the life of a highly respected character actor.--Peter Thornell

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2021
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.

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January 1, 2022
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.

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Starred review from June 1, 2022

Scottish actor Cox's career has spanned six decades in which he has played Shakespearean characters on stage and a long list of character roles on film and television (he has recently garnered much success in the recent HBO series Succession). Born in Dundee, Scotland, he was the youngest of five children. His father died when he was eight and his mother subsequently suffered from mental health issues. Raised mainly by his three eldest sisters, he often escaped to the local cinema where he would see up to eight films per week. He loved American films but was smitten with acting after seeing Albert Finney in the film Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. At 17 he enrolled in the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and the rest is history. A great storyteller, Cox presents a series of recollections from childhood experiences and progresses through his colorful career. He has insightful observations on the craft of acting, sprinkled with gossipy anecdotes about the people he has worked with. He also writes candidly about his own shortcomings as a husband and father. Cox narrates in his distinct and commanding Scottish brogue. VERDICT An entertaining and well-written memoir from a master actor.--Phillip Oliver

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.