Brian Cox: ‘Too many actors in Britain are old Etonians’

Published on 20/11/2012 02:04

Hollywood actor Brian Cox, below, has warned there are too many financial barriers preventing other young Scottish actors making a breakthrough like Paul Brannigan, the Bafta-winning star of The Angels’ Share.

The 66-year-old star of Manhunter and Troy paid tribute to Brannigan, who had served time behind bars before being plucked from obscurity by director Ken Loach for the whisky heist drama.

But he said it was harder than ever for “raw talent” like Brannigan to enter the world of acting because of the huge costs involved in going to drama school.

Cox, who studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in the 1960s, said: “I think it’s more difficult than I’ve ever known for people going to drama school and I absolutely hate this whole business about people having to be interns.

“It’s a nonsense people are working their backsides off without getting paid.

“We need more Paul Brannigans. Too many actors coming through in Britain are old Etonians.

“People like Paul have raw talent, they have come from the streets, but we simply don’t have enough of them.”