Succession star Brian Cox says billionaires like Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos have ‘lost the plot’

‘The last thing this world needs is more spaceships’: Succession star Brian Cox says billionaires like Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos have ‘lost the plot’

  • Cox, 75, was asked about billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson on Tuesday
  • He said ‘these rich guys do lose the plot sometimes’ 
  • Scottish actor plays fictional billionaire Logan Roy on Succession  


He may play the fictional media mogul Logan Roy on hit drama Succession, but in real-life, Brian Cox is less than impressed with some of the world’s most powerful tycoons.

Speaking at the premiere for season three in New York City this week, the 75-year-old thespian criticized billionaires who have ‘lost the plot.’ 

‘Some rich guys think it’s best to be in [and] out of space most of the time,’ Cox told PageSix at the star-studded event on Tuesday night.

‘The last thing this world needs is more spaceships’: Succession star Brian Cox says billionaires like Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos have ‘lost the plot’ (Pictured Tuesday in NYC)

The Scottish actor is said to have been pointedly referring to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and British business magnate Richard Branson.

‘When Branson said that we need more spaceships, I thought, “That’s the last thing this world needs is more spaceships.”‘

Branson, 70, won the so-called ‘billionaire space race’ in July this year when his Virgin Galactic spacecraft took off from New Mexico, beating Bezos, 57.

Billionaire space race: Richard Branson beat his rivals including Jeff Bezos (right) when his Virgin Galactic spacecraft took off from New Mexico in July

Dream: Amazon chief Bezos sent Star Trek's William Shatner into space this week

Billionaire space race: Richard Branson beat his rivals including Jeff Bezos (right) when his Virgin Galactic spacecraft took off from New Mexico in July 

Billionaires like Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak are also part of the competition, with both eager to prosper in space travel. 

‘So you realize a lot of these rich guys do lose the plot sometimes,’ Cox said. 

He then told the outlet about the billionaires depicted on Succession, including his character Logan Roy, and who will end up taking over the media giant Wayster RoyCo.

Losing the plot: Brian Cox plays the fictional media mogul Logan Roy on hit drama Succession

Losing the plot: Brian Cox plays the fictional media mogul Logan Roy on hit drama Succession

‘I think there’s a lot of bad genes there to start with,’ he said. ‘I think the boys are unfortunate, but I think they’ve all got potential and I think he always gives them the benefit of the doubt.’

‘He had great things for Shiv (Sarah Snook) but then she has a problem with talking too much.’

Cox’s comments about space travel come as the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, also criticized the race to leave Earth.

The Duke of Cambridge, 39, said we instead need the world’s greatest brains and minds ‘fixed on trying to repair this planet’ – hours after Amazon chief Bezos sent Star Trek’s William Shatner into space.

The royal appeared to rebuke the billionaire’s space race as he spoke about the current issues facing the climate during an interview with BBC Newscast’s Adam Fleming at Kensington Palace.

To boldly go: Star Trek's William Shatner became the oldest person in space at the age of 90, following a journey aboard Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos's rocket

To boldly go: Star Trek’s William Shatner became the oldest person in space at the age of 90, following a journey aboard Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos’s rocket

He also warned the Cop26 summit, where world leaders will gather in Glasgow at the end of the month to discuss climate change, against ‘clever speak, clever words but not enough action’. 

The duke’s intervention came just hours after Star Trek’s William Shatner became the oldest person in space at the age of 90, following a journey aboard Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. 

It also comes just days after SpaceX founder Elon Musk, whose ambitious plans involve colonising Mars, revealed he would now like to build Tesla cars on the Red Planet. 

In his interview about climate change, ahead of his inaugural Earthshot Prize awards, the duke said: ‘We need some of the world’s greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live.’ 

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