As foul-mouthed billionaire Logan Roy in Succession, Brian Cox rarely has a good word to say about anyone. But the Hollywood actor has revealed that meeting a blind and disabled dad who has been buying food for his elderly neighbours during the cost-of-living crisis reduced him to tears.
The Dundee -born star told how ex-removal firm driver Peter Leith shops at community food banks for more than 15 of his neighbours and friends despite having a degenerative eye condition. Cox, filming in his home city for two-part documentary How The Other Half Live, called Peter his hero.
He said: “It still sits with me as one of the most heroic things ever. I was at the community larder and interviewing people about how tough it was. While I was there, this chap came in with a stick and I asked if he was doing this for his family.
"He said he was doing it for about 15 people who can’t get there because they live in high-rises and they’re older and can’t manage the journey.
"I said, ‘That’s very humbling.’ He had this label sewn onto his arm. When I asked what it was and he said, ‘It’s to show I’m blind,’ I was blown away.
“I said, ‘And you still do this?’ and he said, ‘Well, if I don’t, who will?’ For me, it was one of those moments when you just feel shame. You go, ‘This is an amazing human being.’ It’s humbling and it’s shameful but at the same time this is the great side of who we are, what we possibly can do and possibly be.
“It’s incredibly laudable. This man is a hero and it makes you feel, ‘Well, there’s still hope when we have people like this doing what they do.’” Peter, who also suffers from cataracts and crippling arthritis in his hands and legs, said he was deeply honoured to hear of Cox’s praise.
The 57-year-old, who had to give up work 14 years ago as a result of his failing sight, said the Lochee Community Larder – which charges minimal amounts for food donated by local supermarkets – was a much-needed hub. He said he would always do what he could to help others.
Peter, who survives on benefits, said: “It was great to meet Brian – he’s very nice and a down-to-earth guy. It’s lovely to know he said such kind things about me.”
Peter, who recently moved into sheltered housing, said he often goes to the larder to buy soup, beans, cereal and other food to pass on to neighbours and friends. He said: “My eyesight isn’t great and my arthritis slows me down but I can still get out and about, which makes me luckier than many.
“I’ll pop in to see people with a bit of shopping for them and I’ll sit and have a chat, maybe a cup of tea. For some of the folk who can’t get out so easily, I’m maybe the only person they will chat to that day.
“This cost-of-living crisis is terrible. Some people are embarrassed about going to food banks and the community larder but they shouldn’t be. These places are there to help and we all need a bit of help just now.”
Cox, 76, who won a Best Actor Golden Globe award for his role as media baron Roy, was inspired to make the two-part Channel 5 documentary after reflecting on his own poverty-stricken childhood and the wealth he is surrounded by while filming Succession.
His dad ran a grocer’s shop in Dundee but the family were left living in poverty after his father’s sudden death.
Cox, whose show is on My5, said recently: “I still feel I have the Sword of Damocles hanging above me, a fear that it’s all going to be taken away and I’m going to end up in poverty again. I’m doing well but I’m not one of them. I’m not a multi-millionaire. I’m not Logan Roy.”
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