There are few things everyone can agree on, but there are some things in Hollywood that the vast majority of people have a common respect for: one being Quentin Tarantino films and another being the many iconic roles of Johnny Depp. Well, Hollywood staple and iconic bad guy Brain Cox is about to make a lot of people unhappy with his unpopular opinions, because he just gave some major critiques to these two longtime beloved figures and more in his new autobiography Putting the Rabbit in the Hat.
Brian Cox goes hard on the criticism in his new book Putting the Rabbit in the Hat (via BigIssue), and has some major unpopular opinions that he unapologetically makes known. He cuts down one of Johnny Depp’s most iconic (although let’s be real, there are almost too many to count) performances by saying he really didn’t need to do much at all as Edward Scissorhands. Here’s what Cox says, word for word:
Personable though I’m sure he is, is so overblown, so overrated. I mean, Edward Scissorhands. Let’s face it, if you come on with hands like that and pale, scarred-face make-up, you don’t have to do anything. And he didn’t. And subsequently, he’s done even less.
That’s rough, but at least he doesn’t try to knock him personally or anything. Johnny Depp sure has a huge following and has had a tremendous career in Hollywood that dates back to the ‘80s. It seems that he hasn’t made a fan out of Brian Cox, who has had his own very successful Hollywood career. Cox’s resume goes all the way back to the ‘60s and his is an opinion that carries weight, even if it is one that a lot of people would be horrified at.
Brian Cox doesn’t stop at Johnny Depp, though, and he goes in on director Quentin Tarantino too, whose films are pretty much renowned as instant cult classics. This may be blasphemy for some die hard Tarantino fans, but Cox said he actually walked out of Pulp Fiction. Here’s what the Succession star said, exactly:
I find his work meretricious. It’s all surface. Plot mechanics in place of depth. Style where there should be substance. I walked out of Pulp Fiction…That said, if the phone rang, I’d do it.. It’s all surface. Plot mechanics in place of depth. Style where there should be substance. I walked out of Pulp Fiction…That said, if the phone rang, I’d do it.
Even though he actually turned down Game of Thrones, Brian Cox saying he’d still work on a Quentin Tarantino film is probably just a money move, as his films are pretty much always successful, and actors love working with him. Tarantino may be down for the brutal honesty, but making digs at his films might not be the way to get the phone to ring after all.
It’s not all hate coming from Brain Cox, though, because he does give some serious love to other people in the business. In his autobiography, he throws some real compliments toward Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Rickman. The three are known for being talented gentlemen, and Cox pretty much confirms it for himself as well.
Putting the Rabbit in the Hat is available to buy and read now, although you may be in for some internal disagreements if you pick up a copy. Brian Cox also has a number of big projects in the works, and you can catch him in Season 3 of HBO’s series Succession which is currently dropping new episodes every Sunday at 9pm Eastern.