Brian Cox

Brian Denis Cox, CBE (born June 1, 1946) is a Scottish actor (at least partially of Irish Catholic extraction), notable for being the first person to play Hannibal Lecter, a role he took in the Michael Mann film Manhunter (1986).

Cox was born in Dundee, Scotland and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. His first television role was in "Year of the Sex Olympics". In 1978, he played King Henry II of England in the acclaimed BBC2 drama serial, The Devil's Crown, following which he starred in many other television dramas. One of his first film appearances, in 1971, was as Leon Trotsky in Nicholas and Alexandra. In 1995, he appeared in both Rob Roy and Braveheart. His notable recent films include L.I.E., The Ring, X2, Troy and The Bourne Supremacy. He usually plays villains, such as a rogue general in X2, the tyrannical Agamemnon in Troy and a devious CIA official in the Bourne films. He has played more sympathetic characters, however, such as Edward Norton's sympathic dad in 25th Hour, a fatherly police superior in Super Troopers and Rachel McAdams' father in Red Eye.

Cox won an Emmy Award in 2001 for his portrayal of Hermann Göring in the television mini-series Nuremburg, co-starring with Alec Baldwin, who played former Supreme Court Justice and Nuremburg prosecutor Robert H. Jackson.

Trivia

Cox's son, Alan Cox, is also an actor, best known for his role in Young Sherlock Holmes.
Cox is a diabetic and has worked to promote a diabetes research facility in his home town of Dundee, Scotland.
During the production of Manhunter, while he was playing Hannibal Lecter, Anthony Hopkins was playing King Lear on stage at the National Theater. Years later, during the production of The Silence of the Lambs, when Hopkins took over as Hannibal Lecter, Cox was playing King Lear at the National Theater.
Cox based his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter on Scottish serial killer Peter Manuel.
Cox provided the voice of the demented anatagonist, The Director, in the controversial video game Manhunt, from the creators of the Grand Theft Auto series which shares a similar name with Manhunter and parallels with various other movies.
Cox was to play the lion Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but was replaced by Liam Neeson.
On television, he played Daphne Moon (played by Jane Leeves)'s father in Frasier. He also played the King of Camelot in Red Dwarf.