Biography
The accomplished Shakespearean actor was well-known for his world tour as "King Lear" with the National Theater, and brought that same commanding delivery and strong presence to countless roles as movie bad guys, starting with his chilling portrayal of Hannibal Leckter in Michael Mann's cult thriller, "Manhunter" (1986). That film proved to be a false start in the American movie business, but Cox returned a decade later, and this time, his …
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Career Milestones
1960 | Joined the Dundee Repertory Theatre at the age of fourteen; debuted in "Dover Road" |
1966 | Spent a season with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre; made London stage debut in "As You Like It" |
1969 | First performance with the Royal Court Theatre, "In Celebration" |
1971 | Film debut, as Trotsky in "Nicholas and Alexandra" |
1972 | Appeared in "Hedda Gabler" at the Royal Court |
1973 | Stage directing debut, "The Man with a Flower in His Mouth" (Manchester) |
1975 | Reprised stage role of Steven in the film version of "In Celebration" |
1976 | Began acting with the National Theatre in London |
1980 | Made TV debut in "Therese Raquin" opposite Kate Nelligan (PBS) |
1982 | Had title role in the National Theatre production of "Danton' Death" |
1983 | Cast in a supporting role opposite Laurence Olivier in the TV adaptation of "King Lear" (Channel 4) |
1984 | Co-starred opposite Glenda Jackson on the London stage in Eugene O'Neill's "Strange Interlude" |
1984 | Garnered acclaim for starring role in the stage play "Rat in the Skull" |
1985 | Made Broadway debut reprising his role in "Strange Interlude"; also starred Jackson |
1985 | Reprised leading role in the off-Broadway staging of "Rat in the Skull" at the Public Theater |
1986 | Originated the role of Dr. Hannibal Lecktor in "Manhunter" |
1988 | Played the title role in the Royal Shakespeare production of "Titus Andronicus" |
1989 | Originated role of Frankie in the London premiere of Terrence McNally's "Frankie and Johnnie in the Clair-de-Lune" |
1991 | Played a closeted homosexual in the British TV adaptation of "The Lost Language of Cranes" (BBC) |
1991 | Portrayed a wealthy man who has had duplicate copies of his wife made in "The Cloning of Joanna May" |
1993 | Appeared on episodes of the British drama "Sharpe" (ITV) |
1995 | Acted opposite Mel Gibson in "Braveheart" |
1997 | Appeared as an IRA leader in "The Boxer" |
1997 | Performed the one-person play "St. Nicholas"; written by Conor McPherson expressly for Cox |
1998 | Co-starred in the HBO original "Poodle Springs" |
1998 | Played the school's headmaster in Wes Anderson's "Rushmore"; co-penned by Anderson and Owen Wilson |
1998 | Succeeded Alan Alda as Marc in the award-winning "Art" on Broadway |
1999 | Cast as an unhappily married man who takes in a serial killer (Owen Wilson) in "The Minus Man" |
1999 | Cast as the crusty owner of a baseball team in "For Love of the Game" |
2000 | Co-starred in the A&E TV-movie "Longitude" |
2000 | Portrayed Nazi war criminal Hermann Goering in the TNT miniseries "Nuremberg" |
2001 | Received critical praise for his role as a pedophile in "L.I.E." |
2002 | Appeared in Gore Verbinski's "The Ring" |
2002 | Cast in a supporting role as CIA Deputy Director opposite Matt Damon in "The Bourne Identity" |
2002 | Portrayed real-life screenwriting seminar instructor Robert McKee in Kaufman's pseudo-autobiographical film "Adaptation" |
2003 | Played the villainous anti-mutant crusader Stryker in "X2" |
2004 | Cast as Agamemnon in director Wolfgang Petersen's Greek epic "Troy" |
2004 | Reprised role of Ward Abbott for "The Bourne Supremacy" |
2005 | Co-starred in Woody Allen's "Match Point" |
2006 | Joined the cast of HBO's "Deadwood" as theater owner Jack Langrishe |
2006 | Played Dr. Finch, the oddly hypnotic psychotherapist in the feature adaptation of Augusten Burroughs' "Running With Scissors" |
2007 | Played Melvin Belli, a celebrity defense lawyer in David Fincher's thriller "Zodiac" |
2008 | Played an institutionalized convict in Rupert Wyatt's "The Escapist" |
2009 | Lent his voice to the animated film "Battle for Terra" |
2010 | Cast as Laura Linney's father on the Showtime series "The Big C" |
2011 | Acted in the critically acclaimed "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" |
2011 | Joined an all star cast for the revival of Broadway's "That Championship Season" |
2012 | Cast as Menenius in the feature adaptation of Shakespeare's "Coriolanus," directed by Ralph Fiennes |
Awards
2000 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television in Nuremberg |
2001 | Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor in L.I.E. |
2001 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries in Nuremberg |
2002 | Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead in L.I.E. |
2002 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor In a Comedy Series in Frasier |
2003 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture in Adaptation |
2007 | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in Deadwood |