Brian Cox responds to Rupert Murdoch’s succession plan as son Lachlan takes over
Brian Cox has discussed Rupert Murdoch’s decision to step down as chairman of News Corp and Fox, comparing it to his role on Succession.
Last week (September 21), Murdoch announced he was stepping down as chairman of both companies, with his eldest son Lachlan taking over the role.
Speaking to the BBC about Murdoch’s decision to anoint Lachlan over his siblings Elisabeth and James, Cox joked: “I think he’s been watching too much Succession, clearly.”
Cox plays Logan Roy in the HBO series, which is inspired by the Murdochs and other media mogul families. In the series, Logan Roy leads media company Waystar Royco, as his children vie to become his successor.
“He’s probably the most tenacious human on God’s earth,” Cox said about Murdoch. “He’s just kept on going but I think eventually there comes a point when he has to stop and it had to happen and it’s happened.”
Cox, however, described Murdoch as a “very different animal” compared to Logan Roy, as the former inherited his empire while Roy “started from ground zero”.
The actor also criticised Murdoch’s view of press freedom, as detailed by the media boss in a statement last week. “The battle for the freedom of speech and, ultimately, the freedom of thought, has never been more intense,” Murdoch said. “My father [Keith Murdoch] firmly believed in freedom and Lachlan is absolutely committed to the cause.”
In response, Cox said: “That’s kind of a generalisation statement. Freedom for what? Freedom to impose his ideas on other people. Freedom to manipulate things in certain directions. I mean, he’s certainly done a lot of that in his life.”
When asked whether Lachlan is “Kendall, Roman or Connor,” Cox replied: “I’m not sure which one he is because I kind of kept out of the whole Murdoch thing.
“When you play a role, it’s your creation… the one thing that there is in common is how little Rupert actually expresses himself and he allows things to speak for itself.”
Succession’s fourth and final season received 27 nominations at this year’s Emmys, including nods for Outstanding Drama Series. The ceremony, which was set to air in September, was delayed to January due to the Hollywood strikes.
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Adam Starkey
NME
