Brian Cox (actor)

Brian Denis Cox, CBE is a Scottish actor. He is known for his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he gained recognition for his portrayal of King Lear. He has also appeared in many American films, such as Rushmore, Super Troopers, X2 XMen United as William Stryker, and Troy as Agamemnon. He was the first actor to portray Hannibal Lecter on film in the 1986 feature film Manhunter.

Cox was born to a working class Roman Catholic family of Irish and Scottish descent in Dundee, the youngest and only male child of five siblings. He is a descendant of Irish immigrants to Scotland. His mother, Mary Ann Guillerline , was a spinner who worked in the jute mills and suffered several nervous breakdowns during Coxs childhood. His father, Charles McArdle Campbell Cox, was a butcher and later a shopkeeper, and died when Cox was eight years old. Cox was brought up by his four elder sisters. He joined Dundee Repertory Theatre at the age of 14.

Source: Wikipedia