Brian Cox Slams The Idea Only Actors With Certain Life Experiences Should Be Allowed To Play Certain Roles

"Succession" star Brian Cox did not mince words when asked about the roles actors should be allowed to play.

The discussion centered around whether only actors with certain experiences should play certain roles.

"Bollocks, absolute bollocks," Cox replied to Amol Rajan on BBC Two.

The line of questioning started because Helen Mirren, who isn't Jewish, received criticism for playing Golda Meir, the former prime minister of Israel.

Cox explained that acting is about using imagination and that actors can "inhabit roles." Limiting roles to only those with certain experiences would interfere with that process, according to Cox.

He also pointedly spoke out about the rapid increase in diversity quotas on Hollywood film sets.

"I think we have to be free of all that," Cox said. "I think we have to be diverse but that's a different problem."

He concluded, "I don't think we have to say, 'oh we have to gear it in that way,' because we are not telling the truth. We have to tell the truth."

That's an incredibly brave sentiment to express in the modern entertainment industry.

MADRID, SPAIN - MARCH 29: British actor Brian Cox attends the HBO Max premiere of "Succession" at Academia de Cine on March 29, 2023 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Pablo Cuadra/Getty Images)

Brian Cox Telling Truths Most Are Too Scared To Admit

Hollywood is famously and profoundly hypocritical.

READ: WRITERS GUILD STRIKE YET AGAIN REVEALS HOLLYWOOD HYPOCRISY

The industry cares significantly more about appearing to conform to current liberal standards than it does in making good products.

Disney's prolific failures in recent years are just on example of woke priorities overtaking quality filmmaking. "Lightyear" and "Strange World" were expensive flops that injected political talking points into kids movies.

"Cleopatra" also made waves recently by casting a black actress to play the Macedonian Greek queen.

While Cox's point is that actors are able to inhabit roles, in fiction, that they don't necessarily identify with, "Cleopatra" was ostensibly supposed to be a documentary. Yet historical accuracy was pushed aside to satisfy the current desires of modern progressives.

For the entertainment industry, telling the truth is much less a priority than forcefeeding people what they want them to believe.

Hollywood isn't focused on hiring the best people for the job, or telling stories about people from diverse backgrounds. It's focused on appearing to do good by injecting their political viewpoints where they don't belong.

And until more actors with Cox's stature and influence speak out against it, it'll just get worse.