Brian Cox throws epic shade at Joaquin Phoenix’s ‘truly terrible’ Napoleon portrayal and declares ‘I would have played it better!’ in scathing comments

Brian Cox has labeled Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of Napoleon Bonaparte as “truly terrible” in scathing new comments.

The Succession actor, 77, said Oscar winner Phoenix’s performance in the 2023 Ridley Scott epic was “crazy” and “terrible” and declared he would have played the role “a lot better.”

In a barbed speech at HisFest this week per The standard, Cox said of the Oscar-nominated historical film, “It’s terrible. A truly terrible performance from Joaquin Phoenix. It’s really terrible.

‘I don’t know what he was thinking. I think it’s completely his fault and I don’t think Ridley Scott is helping him. I would have played it a lot better than Joaquin Phoenix, I’m telling you. You can say it’s good drama. No, they’re lies.’

Then he added bizarrely: ‘I think he has a good name. Joaquin… crazy… crazy. It’s kind of a crazy show.’

The Succession actor, 77, said Oscar winner Phoenix’s performance in the 2023 Ridley Scott epic was ‘crazy’ and ‘terrible’ and declared he would have played the role ‘a lot better’

Addressing the lack of historical accuracy in biopics, Cox went on to denounce Mel Gibson’s 1995 epic Braveheart as a “load of nonsense” and a “load of lies.”

Cox also called method acting ‘all b*****ks’ and said researching a role was much more important than playing a character non-stop.

The star added that he will ‘probably’ leave the US if Donald Trump is re-elected as president in the wide-ranging interview.

Last year, Scott hit back at criticism of his highly anticipated Napoleon biopic from France, claiming that “the French don’t even like themselves.”

French critics called the biopic “very clumsy” and “boring” when it premiered in Paris last week.

But Sir Ridley has insisted: ‘The audience I showed it to in Paris loved it.’

Despite critical acclaim in Britain and the US, the epic starring Joaquin Phoenix as the marauding French emperor angered critics on the continent.

Historian Patrice Gueniffey in Le Point called the film “an Englishman’s film … very anti-French” and criticized the director for “wokist prejudices.”

But asked by the BBC what he thought of historians who say his film is inaccurate, Sir Ridley said: ‘Do you really want me to answer that?… There will be a bleep in it.’

He said, ‘I don’t know what he was thinking. I think it’s all his fault and I don’t think Ridley Scott is helping him (Phoenix and Scott pictured in November 2023)

Phoenix plays Napoleon in the film that focuses on his tainted and complex relationships amid a stunning rise to power against the backdrop of the French Revolution

Addresses the lack of historical accuracy in biopics – Cox subsequently denounced Mel Gibson’s 1995 epic Braveheart as a ‘load of nonsense’ and a ‘load of lies’

A reviewer from GQ said the film left them “bored”, adding that there was something “awkward” but “unintentionally funny” about seeing French soldiers shouting “Vive la France” in American accents.

Le Figaro said the film should be renamed ‘Barbie and Ken under the Empire’ and added that Napoleon is depicted as a ‘sentimental brute with a gun in his hand and quick to shed a tear’.

The Canadian French-language newspaper Le Devoir led with the headline “Not Waterloo, but not Austerlitz either,” referring to Napoleon’s futile last stand in Belgium and his tactical “masterpiece” against the Russians in what is now the Czech Republic.

The article described Phoenix’s Napoleon as a “prickly man-child who doesn’t really seem to know what he’s doing.”

Criticism of the film’s direction builds on growing claims of inaccuracies from historians, including Dan Snow.

Snow also took issue with the film’s tagline, “He came from nothing, he conquered everything,” because Napoleon never conquered Britain.

‘I like historical epics. I love Ridley Scott. But if you watch this film, it is not a documentary,” he said.