Brian Cox, the veteran Shakespearean actor who won a Golden Globe for his performance as the Murdoch-type media patriarch Logan Roy in the HBO TV drama series Succession was born one day before Peter Sutcliffe and two weeks before Donald Trump.
Born 1 June 1946 2.15 pm Dundee, Scotland, he grew up in poverty with his father dying when he was 8. His mother suffered frequent nervous breakdowns, leaving him to be brought up by his elder sisters. He joined Dundee Rep theatre at 14, left school at 15 and never looked back. He went to drama school later and gave many notable performances in the 1970s/80s for the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. He’s also known on film for The Bourne Identity, Braveheart, Rushmore, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Troy and was the first actor to portray Hannibal Lecter on film, in 1986’s Manhunter.
His maverick Sun, Mercury, Uranus are in the much-travelled, communicative and philosophical/political 9th hinting at his life and social activism. His 10th house of career has a tuned-into-the-public Moon Cancer conjunct a creative and charming Venus; with a serious and well-organised Saturn also in his 10th. His Mercury conjunct Uranus is in a confident trine to Jupiter, sextile Mars and Pluto giving him the ability to project – his voice in roles and his message in political terms.
The key difference between him and Sutcliffe are the house positions. Cox is much more outgoing in the sense of being focused out into the world, both in his career and his opinions about society. Sutcliffe was much more anchored into his family past and forces beyond his control with his 8th house emphasis.
Cox has a notably strong get-it-together 5th Harmonic; and creative 7H; with his actors’ 15H being the most notable of all. A rare talent.