Brian Cox Reveals What He Misses Most About 'Succession' and Why He Chose His New Movie

Brian Cox in Little Wing streaming on Paramount+ Photo by Alysson Riggs/Paramount+

When Brian Cox finished playing media titan Logan Roy on the hit series Succession he was ready for a new challenge. The Emmy-winning actor, who has played everyone from Winston Churchill and Agamemnon to screenwriting guru Robert McKee to Hannibal Lecter, discovered a script that he could not turn down.

"When this came along, I thought it was a charming script and a really nice role," Cox tells Parade.

Little Wing, now streaming on Paramount+, was inspired by Susan Orlean's 2006 story of the same title that appeared in The New Yorker. Orlean poetically writes about Sedona Murphy, a 13-year-old girl, her very special bond with her homing pigeons and the art and magic of pigeon racing.

“Pigeons are amazing," he says. "The notion of homing pigeons becomes very clear when you work with pigeons because they really understand the nature of home and coming back to it.

“They have a real knowledge of where they are and what they're doing, both en masse and as individuals. They're surprisingly smart in terms of how they corral themselves and how they work,” says Cox, who co-starred as Robert McKee in Adaptation, which was based on Orlean's novel, The Orchid Thief.

The inspiring movie, directed by Dean Israelite, is all about finding the courage to believe in yourself, despite challenges to the contrary. It’s also about forgiveness and discovering and trusting the power of friendship. In addition to Cox, the movie stars Brooklynn Prince, Kelly Reilly, Che Tafari, Simon Khan and Trinity Jo-Li Bliss.

So did the film inspire the beloved actor to perhaps become a bird owner himself? “No, no, no,” insists Cox, who has been acting professionally since he was a teen. “We have cats and they’re great because they are self sustaining. And I love dogs but don’t want to be wiping up after them.”

Read on for more from our interview with Cox.

What did you know about homing pigeons before working on the film?

I knew nothing. I remember seeing films like On the Waterfront with Marlon Brando and of course, The Producers. The people in the film who owned the pigeons [we used] were exceptional. All I had to do was what I was told. I didn't even get shat on.

There's something so poetic about the film. Explain your character's strong sense of forgiveness.

I believe once he understands the young girl's background and what she's going through, he's extremely empathetic, if not sympathetic. He understands the perspective of what she does. But [what he has to face] is still tough. This is his incredible bird that he's devoted so much energy to and his life’s work. So there’s a counter-tension that goes on in him. It’s a really nice role and script.

When did you know you had to be an actor? 

In Scotland, on New Year’s Eve we have a special festival called Hogmanay. You have an open house where people bring coal inside which brings good luck for the year. We lived in a small tenement but had these huge New Year’s Eve parties.

My sister would sing and then say, “Brian Cox will come and sing?” And I would come and sing in my pajamas. I remember the effect on the room. As a little boy, I thought, what is it that makes people come to this feeling?I was the youngest [of 5] and a monstrous show-off as a kid. I got the bug and it never left me.

What do you miss the most about Succession?

I don’t miss it. It was an amazing role and served me well. I mean, it sort of stole my anonymity. I prided myself on my anonymity.

You were happy that it ended?

I enjoyed doing the show but was also very happy when it came to an end because of the integrity of Jesse [Armstrong, the show’s writer/creator] and the writers, not to let it go past its sell-by date. They made this decision [to kill me off]. It was a bold decision and it worked. And then people rang me up and said, "We're not going to watch the show anymore, since you've gone.” And I said, “well, you know, the show is called Succession.”

And now you’re back doing theater.

I'm about to do Long Day's Journey into Night in London. I made that decision when I knew that [Succession was coming to an end.] I thought, well, now I'm at a stage where I can't even remember why I've come into a room. So I thought I'd test myself.

It's a beautiful bear of a play by Eugene O’Neill. 

It’s probably the greatest play in the American canon.

Will you take the play to Broadway?

Let me get it done here first and see how well it goes.