BRIAN Cox has hailed Scotland’s film and TV industry during an event at the Edinburgh International Television Festival.
The Succession star was being interviewed by the Culture Secretary Angus Robertson at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.
When asked about Scotland’s increasing studio capacity he said: “I don’t think the future has ever been brighter."
However, he noted that creative workers in Scotland shouldn’t solely focus on making films set in the country.
“Scotland is very much open for business and we’ve got the people to do it. I just want to see Scotland get its just desserts.”
He recalled how Scotland once lost out during the filming of Braveheart because there weren’t enough financial incentives to attract studios into the country.
But with Scotland’s expanding studio capacity – with a new £11.9 million production facility due to open in Glasgow later this year – Cox said that times had changed.
The audience were also shown clips from the actor’s upcoming documentary for Channel 5, which addresses poverty in Scotland.
He said that the show, with a working title of "Brian Cox: That’s the Way the Money Goes" was important because it allowed him to use his profile to draw attention to the problems facing Scotland.
“It is important for people like me, actors, to put themselves in a place where they can do something like that.”
Cox also took a swipe at Westminster, calling the current UK Government “appalling” and outlined why he was a supporter of Scottish independence.
“We’ve been at the mercy of the UK Government forever,” he said. “We’ve been so ignored over the years”.
During a Q&A session the actor also pointed out that the opportunities for working-class actors were not the same as they once were.
“As a 15-year-old I got a certificate that said I was educated and that was it.
“And, luckily, I always had a vision of where I wanted to be in terms of being an actor.
“The 60s was the period of incredible social mobility […] but people from my class now they have not the same kind of access, which I think is bloody disgraceful. They cannot get to what they want to do because of the system that doesn’t help.
"People like Benedict Cumberbatch, Dominic West, Eddie Redmayne, they all went to public schools. And the public school system has these amazing state-of-the-art theatres.
“And they go to drama school and of course they can afford to pay.
“I couldn’t do it now, I just simply could not do it. And it’s still class-ridden, it’s still feudal, it’s still everyone in their place.
“That’s why I’m keen on my country being free.”
Cox is set to make shoot his directorial debut next year. The film is called Glenrothan and is about a family-owned distillery in Scotland.
The actor has described the project as “‘The Quiet Man’ meets ‘Local Hero’”.
