Brian Cox hasn’t seen the ‘Succession’ finale: ‘When I’m over, it’s over’
Warning: This story contains spoilers for the series finale of “Succession.”
Logan Roy didn’t live to see the fate of his multibillion-dollar company so it’s only fitting that Brian Cox hasn’t seen the series finale of “Succession.”
Cox, who plays Logan, admitted Sunday that he hasn’t watched the final episode of the hit HBO drama after his character died earlier in the season. However, the Scottish actor claimed he already “knew how it was going to end because ... Logan had already set it up.”
Asked by the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg why he hasn’t kept up with the show, Cox joked, “I’m dead. Dead people don’t watch things like that.”
Brian Cox understands why Logan Roy had to die — the show is called ‘Succession,’ after all. But that doesn’t mean he agrees with his showrunner about the timing.
“I’ve never liked watching myself, for a start,” he elaborated in earnest.
“And somehow or other, because of what happened to Logan, I’ve been disinclined to watch the rest. ... I gather that ultimately, in the end, Logan’s won through — even though he’s in the grave. But it’s a strange situation. ... I don’t cling onto things. When I’m over, it’s over, and I go on.”
Five years after it began, “Succession” culminated last week in a climactic battle between the Roy children and tech mogul Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) over Waystar Royco — the media conglomerate that Logan founded and attempted to sell to Matsson before his shocking death in Season 4, Episode 3.
Times staff breaks down the HBO series’ finale, including Shiv and Tom’s power swings, the Roy sibling rivalry, the company’s new CEO and more.
Despite the Roy siblings’ repeated attempts to ascend the Waystar throne, the deal finally went through with none of them on top — a devastating ending that satisfied Cox.
“They don’t deserve to [succeed],” he said on “Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg.”
“That’s the whole point of the show. The show’s been heading that way.”
The Waystar Royco chief, who died in Season 4, Episode 3 of ‘Succession,’ leaves a legacy of hardball business tactics and cable news provocation.
Cox has had plenty to say about the series in the wake of his character’s demise. He previously divulged to the BBC that he “did feel a little bit rejected” when he found out Logan was getting the ax toward the beginning of Season 4.
“I felt a little bit, ‘Oh, all the work I’ve done. And finally I’m going to end up as a New Yorker on a carpet of a plane,’” he said.
The Emmy winner has since arrived at the opinion that “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong concluded Logan’s story “brilliantly” — albeit “too early.”
“It was bold of Jesse, and that’s where Jesse’s great,” he continued. “There’s no question he’s a writing genius.”
Like other great TV dramas, ‘Succession’ used marital strife as a gripping plot point, but unlike other shows, it inverted the typical power balance between husband and wife.
Up next, Cox is set to star in an Amazon reality series inspired by the “James Bond” franchise. The competition program bills Cox as an antagonist of sorts who will control the fates of the contestants.
“I got to see how ordinary people would cope with being on a James Bond adventure,” Cox said in a statement obtained by the Hollywood Reporter.
“As they travel the world to some of the most iconic Bond locations, it gets more intense and nail-biting. I enjoyed my role as both villain and tormentor, with license to put the hopeful participants through the mangle.”
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