Brian Cox mercilessly criticized Joaquin Phoenix‘s performance in Napoleon, directed by Ridley Scott.
Speaking on a panel at London’s HistFest on Tuesday, April 16, the 77-year-old star of Succession slammed Phoenix’s performance of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte
According to The Evening Standard, Cox said, “Terrible. It’s horrible. A really horrible performance from Joaquin Phoenix. Really horrifying. I don’t know what he’s thinking,” she said.
I think it’s entirely his fault and I don’t think Ridley Scott helped him. I’ll tell you what, I would have done much better than Joaquin Phoenix. You can call it a good drama. No, that’s a lie.
The Scottish actor, known for his outspokenness, continued:
I think it’s aptly named. Joaquin… ‘Wackeen’… Wacky (Joaquin’s pronunciation of wackeen is similar to the English word wacky). This is a wacky performance.
Cox then condemned the directors of blockbuster movies for compromising historical accuracy for the sake of entertainment.
Emmy-winning actor Cox said of Mel Gibson’s 1995 historical drama, “Braveheart is a farce.” Cox played a fictional character named Argyle Wallace in Braveheart.
Mel Gibson was great, but the movie is full of lies. William Wallace never impregnated the French Princess. This movie is bullshit.
Cox, who is currently starring in the West End production of Long Day’s Journey Into Night, also sent a message to theater critics who compared his performance in the play to his character Logan Roy in Succession.
Cox said, “This is so stupid! Why would you make such a comparison? It’s so obvious. Most critics are idiots. They really are. Theater criticism is at rock bottom.”
Think of the great critics of the past, there is no one to replace them now. Because they don’t do their homework.
Released last November, Napoleon also stars Vanessa Kirby and Anna Mawn. After the first screening, Scott gave a sarcastic response to French critics who did not like the movie. “The French don’t even like themselves,” he said in an interview with BBC News at the time.
Although the film was not well-received by critics (it currently has an average score of 57 percent on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes), it managed to score a few nominations at the 2024 Oscars. The film was nominated for Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.
The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey disagreed with Cox’s assessment of Phoenix’s performance, praising the film as “perversely watchable” in her 4-star review.
“The film is a two-and-a-half-hour visual feast that conveys this brutal history in Scott’s bold, modern style,” Loughrey wrote.
Napoleon is available to watch on Apple TV+.
