Brian Cox rubbishes A-list stars including Johnny Depp, Quentin Tarantino, in new book

This is one way to promote a memoir.... Emmy-award winner Brian Cox has trashed a lengthy list of big name celebrities in his upcoming book.

Well, this is certainly one way to get some buzz for your memoir.

Succession actor Brian Cox, 75, has penned a new book, Putting the Rabbit in the Hat, and judging by some early-released excerpts published by Big Issue, it is an absolute juicy mess.

The Emmy-award winner and veteran performer drags not one, not two, but approximately eight A-list celebrities in the memoir, including Quentin Tarantino, Johnny Depp, David Bowie and Michael Caine.

Perfectly emulating his savage media mogul character Logan Roy in the HBO series, which is currently airing its third season on Foxtel, the Scottish actor didn’t mince his considered words in the excerpt.

Here’s what he had to say about certain celebrities he’s either worked with or come across.

Brian Cox has penned a memoir, and it’s got a whole lot of tea.

Quentin Tarantino: “I find his work meretricious. It’s all surface. Plot mechanics in place of depth. Style where there should be substance. I walked out of Pulp Fiction … That said, if the phone rang, I’d do it.”

Johnny Depp: “Personable though I’m sure he is, is so overblown, so overrated. I mean, Edward Scissorhands. Let’s face it, if you come on with hands like that and pale, scarred-face makeup, you don’t have to do anything. And he didn’t. And subsequently, he’s done even less.”

Christopher Walken and Jonathan Pryce: “Christopher Walken was somewhat bemused by Jonathan Pryce, which is understandable, Jonathan being an interesting fish, kind of dark and gloomy at times. And if you can freak out Christopher Walken … “

Steven Seagal: “Steven Seagal is as ludicrous in real life as he appears on screen. He radiates a studied serenity, as though he’s on a higher plane to the rest of us, and while he’s certainly on a different plane, no doubt about that, it’s probably not a higher one.”

David Bowie: “A skinny kid, and not a particularly good actor. He made a better pop star, that much is for certain.”

Michael Caine: “I wouldn’t describe Michael as my favourite, but he’s Michael Caine. An institution. And being an institution will always beat having range.”

Edward Norton: “A nice lad but a bit of a pain in the arse because he fancies himself as a writer-director.”

Cox thinks Quentin Tarantino films are ‘meretricious’. Picture: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images for RFF

Cox also believes Johnny Depp is overrated. Picture: Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images

But Cox did have some kind words to say about some of his famous comrades in the memoir, which will be released in January.

He said Harry Potter star Alan Rickman “was one of the sweetest, kindest, nicest and most incredibly smart men I’ve ever met. Prior to acting he’d been a graphic designer and he brought the considered, laser-like precision of that profession to his work.”

Unsurprisingly, he rated notorious Hollywood sweetheart Keanu Reeves, dubbing him a “seeker” who has “actually become rather good over the years”.

He also said Morgan Freeman held his composure with class during difficult shoots: “I’m pleased to say that although he was cold and pissed off and watching bedlam reign around him, Morgan Freeman remained an absolute gentleman.

“Being the very epitome of Morgan Freeman. The Morgan Freeman you would hope to meet. The Morgan Freeman you encounter in your dreams.”

As for whether or not he was concerned about what his peers would think of him airing his deepest thoughts, Cox told the Big Issue: “I’m expecting probably never to hear from some people again. But that’s the way it goes.”

This comes a matter of weeks after Cox made headlines for rocking up to the Succession season 3 premiere wearing a face mask that read, “F**k off”.

If you had to nominate someone to have dinner with – dead or alive – it can be said Cox would be a worthy contender.