BC as Hannibal Lecter in Michael Mann's MANHUNTER, 1986
The receipients of this prestigious award, thus far:
The origin of this award:
To film geeks, Brian Cox has been a household word (spoken in a tone of reverence) for many years. To more casual moviegoers, he’s one of those character actors whose name you can’t remember, but he looks darn familiar. Probably because he was in the last five movies you saw. (“Wasn’t he the dude that played X in YZ?”)
Brian Cox as Argyle in BRAVEHEART
Indeed, Cox is such a busy actor, and has been for so long, that film critic Roger Ebert once made a comment to the effect that he seemed to be in everything. And if he wasn’t, he ought to be. (If you doubt me, check out his rap sheets at IMDb and Wikipedia. I tried counting his movie and TV credits on IMDb, but quit at a hundred. That took me back only as far as 1995?s Braveheart. The list, which goes back to 1965, looks at least as long again.)
Brian Cox in THE BOURNE SUPREMACY
Of course, one might say that the guy’s chameleon-like ubiquity is a common trait among BBC/RSC character actors. But sheesh, Brian Cox, both in quantity and quality, takes it to a mind-boggling degree. I mean, does the guy sleep?)
Well, Clan Murphy so happens to agree with The Great Ebert on the Brian Cox score (as on many others), and have therefore created, in his honor, a special award for terrific actors who show up everywhere, and by golly ought to be in everything: the Brian Cox Award for Awesome Ubiquity.
Here’s a 2010 interview with Cox on acting, taking risks, luck, and being prepared:
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