Brian Cox has revealed all about how Logan Roy's origins changed in Succession.
Speaking at his masterclass at Series Mania in France, the 76-year-old talked about what he has learned over the course of his extensive career, his love of Shakespeare and his thoughts regarding method acting, but he also treated the audience with a story about the changing origins of Logan.
When creator Jesse Armstrong and executive producer Adam McKay first told him about the show, Cox said he instantly knew Succession would be a hit. He had a note, though, about Logan Roy's nationality and suggested to them that Logan could be a Scot.
"Jesse said 'no, he’s got to be American'," the star explained before amusingly noting that Armstrong's idea to make Logan American was to have him being born in Quebec, Canada.
"So in the first episode, it’s [Logan’s] birthday and we have a toast. Peter Friedman who plays Frank makes a speech and says 'born in Quebec'," explained Cox.
However, by the ninth episode of the first season, while they were filming Shiv and Tom's wedding, Friedman told Cox about having just done additional dialogue recording (ADR) and finding out that Logan’s birthplace had changed: "'You’re no longer born in Quebec' and I said 'So where am I born?'" Cox recalled. “Somewhere called Dundee, Scotland,” Friedman answered.
"But that’s where I was born," I said and Peter said 'Oh that’s a coincidence.' And I said "It’s a hell of a coincidence! For nine episodes I’ve been playing this man from Quebec and now I’m a Scots from Dundee!"
"This is writers for you," he continued. “I go up to Jesse and I say 'What’s going on? I’m now no longer from Quebec, I’m now born in my hometown, Dundee?' and he says "Oh we thought it would be a little surprise."'
The actor added it was a tad challenging to see Dundee through Logan's eyes when the character visited his hometown in season 2, since Logan's Dundee is full of bad memories and very different from Cox’s own experience of the Scottish town.
Asked about Logan’s relationship with his children, Cox insisted that the patriarch loves them and that it is his main weakness. But as much as Logan may love Shiv, Kendall, Roman and Connor, Cox would not want to have any of them as a child in real life: "They’re spoiled to f***. I mean, I quite like Roman but he has a potty mouth which has got him into all kinds of problems, and I also have a sort of fondness for Connor."
To find out if one of the Roy children will, at last, be Logan’s successor, tune in to Succession season 4 on March 26 in the US on HBO, and March 27 in the UK on Sky Atlantic and NOW.
