Despite some high praise from certain groups of critics and moviegoers, Ridley Scott’s Napoleon epic garnered a bit of a divisive reception last year, with Joaquin Phoenix’s performance being a part of that. Now, British acting legend Brian Cox (of recent Succession fame) has also criticised the movie and its main actor.
Cox has a long history of not giving a s**t when it comes to interviews and side gigs (such as that incredible Tekken 8 trailer he narrated). His recent rant at HistFest (via The Standard) is on an entirely different level, however.
The veteran actor had negative things to say about method acting, Donald Trump, and theatre critics, but also had some bullets to spare for Phoenix’s Napoleon performance as well as the (lack of) guidance he was given by Ridley Scott. “Terrible. It’s terrible,” he declared, “A truly terrible performance by Joaquin Phoenix. It really is appalling. I don’t know what he was thinking. I think it’s totally his fault and I don’t think Ridley Scott helps him. I would have played it a lot better than Joaquin Phoenix, I tell you that.” It’s the last sentence that sells the whole thing, I’d say. Just sublime stuff.
