Brian Cox thinks Jeremy Strong’s method acting is unhealthy. And the remedy, he says, is smoking some good-ass weed.

In a recent interview with Town & Country, Cox discussed life on the set of the hit show Succession. The dark comedy show centers on a wealthy family, where Cox plays the billionaire patriarch, Logan Roy.

Jeremy Strong, who plays one of Logan’s sons, is known for method acting. Method acting is basically when an actor stays in character, even long after the director calls “cut.” 

Some famous actors, such as Daniel Day Lewis and Marlon Brando, would remain in character even when off the set. 

When asked if it was annoying working with a method actor, Cox replied, “Oh, it’s fucking annoying. 

“Don’t get me going on it,” he continued.

But Cox got going on it. He praised Strong’s acting skills, describing it as a “gift.”

“He’s fucking gifted. When you’ve got the gift, celebrate the gift,” he said. “Go back to your trailer and have a hit of marijuana, you know?”

And Cox, who was the first actor to ever play Hannibal Lecter in the 80’s film Manhunter, would know a thing or two about blazing the ganj.

In a 2020 interview with the Guardian, he said he tried weed for the first time at 50 years old. 

“I realized I missed out on what was going on with young people because I was so square, and I was working so hard, I needed something to relax,” he said. “So, I discovered the wonderful world of cannabis.” 

In fact, Cox’s love for cannabis got him into trouble. His admission to the Guardian got him booted as the spokesman of a senior daycare charity. Which is ironic, considering older adults can benefit greatly from cannabis’s medical properties.

As for whether Strong will take up Cox’s advice, we hope it happens. Cox explained to Town & Country that method acting could be incredibly unhealthy for any actor. He also suspected it was a symptom of the American work-yourself-to-death ethic. 

“I’ve worked with intense actors before,” Cox told the New Yorker in a separate interview, according to Express. “It’s a particularly American disease, I think, this inability to separate yourself off while you’re doing the job.”

There’s a plant-based panacea for that “American disease,” too.

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