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Actor Brian Cox, star of HBO’s critically acclaimed Succession, explains why he turned down a major role in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
Brian Cox, who currently portrays the formidable patriarch Logan Roy on HBO’s Succession, revealed in his memoir why he turned down a role in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
In an excerpt shared by GQ from his recently released memoir, Putting the Rabbit in the Hat, Cox explained that he was offered the role of Governor Weatherby Swan, a character inevitably portrayed by Jonathan Pryce in the films, but “turned [his] nose up” at the part. “The guy who directed Pirates was Gore Verbinski, with whom I made The Ring, and he’s a lovely chap but I think I blotted my copybook by turning down the Governor,” Cox wrote. “It would have been a money-spinner, but of all the parts in that film it was the most thankless, plus I would have ended up doing it for film after film and missed out on all the other nice things I’ve done.”
However, it wasn’t just Cox’s apparent aversion to the role of the Governor that led him to pass on Pirates, but franchise star Johnny Depp. “Another thing with Pirates of the Caribbean is that it’s very much the ‘Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow’ show, and Depp, personable though I’m sure he is, is so overblown, so overrated,” the actor wrote. “I mean, Edward Scissorhands. Let’s face it, if you come on with hands like that and pale, scarred-face make-up, you don’t have to do anything. And he didn’t. And subsequently, he’s done even less. But people love him. Or they did love him. They don’t love him so much these days, of course.”
Depp has portrayed Captain Jack Sparrow in all five Pirates of the Caribbean films, starting with Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003. Depp became so popular in the role that a petition began circulating early last year, with fans demanding the actor’s return as Captain Jack for the sixth installment in the franchise.
In November 2020, Depp was asked by Warner Bros. to step down from his role as Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore following his messy, public divorce from Aquaman‘s Amber Heard. This led to a long legal battle between the actor and The Sun, who sued the British tabloid for libel after a headline referred to him as a “wife beater,” a fight he would inevitably lose. This led Depp to claim that he was being blacklisted by Hollywood as a result, and the actor recently issued a statement taking a stand against “cancel culture” and implored his fans to do the same.
Cox gained recognition as an actor for his portrayal of King Lear while working with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. He would go on to appear in films like Braveheart and Manhunter, where he was the first actor to play Hannibal Lector. Currently, he stars in HBO’s critically acclaimed Succession, for which he has won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama Series. His autobiography Putting the Rabbit in the Hat is set to release on Jan. 18.
Source: GQ
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