Brian Cox regrets becoming a CBE and says he would ‘never’ accept a knighthood
Succession actor is a campaigner for Scottish independence
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Brian Cox has expressed regret over becoming a CBE and has said he would “never” accept a knighthood.
The Dundee-born Succession star, who is a campaigner for Scottish independence, said he should have “thought better” when he accepted the honour in 2003 for his services to drama.
“I have a royalist sister and a republican sister and I thought, well my royalist sister will be happy but she couldn’t give a s**t,” he said. “That was my justification.
“Now I would never be a knight. I wouldn’t want to do that. A CBE is usually a precursor to getting a knighthood. I got my CBE a while ago and I have been so active in Scottish independence. They are determined to keep the Queen, she goes with the whole nine yards [so] we don’t get rid of her. It will never be a proper republic.”
Cox won Best Actor in a TV Drama for his role as the media magnate Logan Roy in Succession at the Golden Globes earlier this month.
The actor, who recently claimed he was "touched up" by Princess Margaret, is not the first arts figure to criticise the British honours, which are awarded by the Queen.
David Bowie, Danny Boyle, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, John Lennon and Benjamin Zephaniah are among those who have previously rejected CBEs, OBEs and MBEs.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments