‘Succession’s Brian Cox claims Margot Robbie is “too beautiful” for her starring role in ‘Wuthering Heights’: “But it’s wrong of me to judge”

Brian Cox is letting people hear him roar once again, and among his remarks is a take on Emerald Fennell‘s Wuthering Heights—despite not having seen the film.

The Succession star laid into a slew of actors and directors while speaking with The Times, and was asked about the latest iteration of Emily Brontë’s novel, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.

“‘Keith Cliff! It’s me, Cathy!’” he said in what the outlet described as “a cod Australian accent.” “‘How ya doing, Keith? Awright?’ ‘Yeah, I’m awright!’”

After letting out “a hearty chuckle,” Cox proceeded to share his thoughts on Robbie’s casting, saying he thinks she is “far too beautiful” for the role of Cathy.”

“I mean, I think there should be something more of the Gypsy about her but it’s wrong of me to judge,” he added. “It may be a brilliant film.”

Nonetheless, Cox’s comments about Robbie and Wuthering Heights may not be as harsh as those he made about other actors and directors. Cox notably revealed a distaste for Johnny Depp, explaining that he turned down the role of Governor Weatherby Swann in the Pirates of the Caribbean films that ultimately went to Jonathan Pryce because Depp is “so overblown, so overrated.”

Cox called out directors Quentin Tarantino and Michael Caton-Jones as “meretricious” and “a complete arsehole,” respectively, and also called writer David Hare a “see you next Tuesday.”

Other not-so-honorable mentions from Cox include Edward Norton being “a pain in the arse,” Kevin Spacey being “a stupid, stupid man,” and Ian McKellen‘s work an actor as “not to [his] taste.”

This is not the first time that Cox has been vocal about his opinions of his industry companions. The actor reportedly went to town on what he called Joaquin Phoenix‘s “truly terrible” performance in Napoleon in 2024, claiming that he “would have played it a lot better.” He also has slammed his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong’s affinity for method acting, which led fellow method actor Daniel Day-Lewis to ask Cox to get in touch with him to talk about it. However, Cox told The Times that he hasn’t “reached out because it’s got nothing to do with Dan Day-Lewis.”

“Dan Day-Lewis, he’s discreet,” Cox continued. “He never upsets it [the filming process]. He’s never, sort of… I don’t want to go on about Jeremy, because I’ve got into a lot of problems and he’s begged me to stop talking about him. He’s a good actor, Jeremy. He’s a wonderful actor. It’s just all the bollocks that goes with it. You watch children — they don’t say, ‘What’s my motivation?’ They just do it!”

With respect to his open criticism, Cox teased that he “do[es]n’t know yet if it’s caused [him] problems.”

“I mean, my wife keeps saying, ‘Brian, be careful. Brian, be careful.’ I think, ‘F*** it, I don’t want to be careful any more!’” he said. “I’ll be 80 this year. F*** it! I’m gonna say what I want to say.”

Wuthering Heights is now available to buy or rent on digital platforms.