Brian Cox Blasts Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, Calls Joaquin Phoenix Terrible: ‘It’s Totally His Fault’

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Brian Cox Blasts Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, Calls Joaquin Phoenix Terrible: ‘It’s Totally His Fault’

Brian Cox is not a fan of Joaquin Phoenix’s performance in Ridley Scott’s Napoleon.

Speaking with The Standard at London’s HistFest, per Variety, Cox called Phoenix’s performance in 2023’s Napoleon “terrible.”

The Succession star continued, “A truly terrible performance by Joaquin Phoenix. It really is appalling. I don’t know what he was thinking. I think it’s totally his fault and I don’t think Ridley Scott helps him. I would have played it a lot better than Joaquin Phoenix, I tell you that. You can say it’s good drama. No — it’s lies.”

He added, “I think he’s well-named. Joaquin…wackeen…wacky. It’s a sort of wacky performance.”

What is Ridley Scott’s Napoleon about?

Napoleon released in United States theaters in November 2023. It made approximately $221 million at the global box office off an estimated budget of $130-200 million. The film, directed by Scott, received mostly positive reviews from critics and earned Oscar nominations for Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Best Visual Effects.

“Napoleon is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte,” the synopsis for the movie reads. “Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte’s relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.”

Along with Phoenix, Napoleon stars Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim, Rupert Everett, and Ben Miles.

Napoleon is currently streaming on Apple TV+. Scott previously said that a director’s cut of Napoleon with a runtime of four hours and ten minutes would be eventually be available to stream, though a release date has not yet been set.