We live in an age of contradictions, entitlement: 'Succession' star Brian Cox

It's the age of moral desolation with people confused about their needs, says Hollywood star Brian Cox who believes his role as the morally ambiguous tycoon Logan Roy in the HBO drama "Succession" mirrors the contradictions of the times.

Cox, 73, who won his first Golden Globe this year for his performance, said his character is "despicable" yet "likable".

"It's a great role. It's like one of those classical roles like King Lear or Hamlet. He is so despicable and yet so likable. He is full of these wonderful contrasts. And unlike Rupert Murdoch, Conrad Black or even someone like Donald Trump, the great thing about Logan is that he is a self-made man. He does not come from an inherited position," Cox told PTI in a telephonic interview from London.

The Scottish actor is best known for his roles as King Agamemnon in "Troy", anti-mutant villain William Stryker in "X-Men" and Churchill in "Winston Churchill".

When not in front of the camera, Cox spends time working towards the second Scottish independence referendum, an issue close to his heart.

"It is going to be very hard. I believe one of the problems in the UK is that we still live in the state of the Empire. We still live with this memory of when we were this imperialist nation. We have got to get rid of that in order to move ahead because UK is so feudal," he said.

Recalling his journey to India years ago, Cox said the best thing to happen to the British Empire was its discovery of India.

"I remember years ago trying to book a train from Kolkata to Madras... the elaborate bureaucracy of India totally fits in with that kind of British mentality."
Cox said he was initially confused by Logan's horrible treatment of his four children so much so that he asked writer-creator Jesse Armstrong whether he loves his children. To which Armstrong told him, "Of course, Logan loves his children very much."
"This is very prevalent in our society, which is moving more and more towards the right wing and more conservative. We see that the UK with the election of a very right wing government, with (Donald) Trump in America, in Russia, Turkey and Hungary. We've got a lot of these strong right wing movements, so that's what the conditions we're in."
"I've had great mentors in my life. I've had people who've given me strong moral and social ideas... It was not my fault that I suffered family tragedy, poverty. (But) As a young person, I always felt excluded. And I had to overcome my exclusion. So we have had similar trajectories."