Yankee Review

"Can't do it, Max..."  
Acclaimed actor Brian Cox plays Dr. Guggenheim. Cox describes him: "I am the headmaster of Rushmore Academy, and I have the misfortune of having to deal with a young man called Max Fischer, who, deep down, wants my job. He is my nemesis, and I am his. But we cannot help but respect one another as formidable enemies." 

Credit: Rushmore press kit

About Brian Cox...
Brian Cox is of Irish descent and Celtic heritage.  In 1961, just prior to his 15th birthday, Cox joined the Dundee Repertory Theatre as an apprentice.  He later enrolled in the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA).  His first appearance in London came in the highly successful production of "As You Like It."  Returning to Scotland, Cox played the title role in "Peer Gynt," Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet" an Iago in "Othello" at The Royal Lyccum Theatre and Birmingham Repertory.

Subsequent stage work included Ibsen's "When We Dead Awaken," "In Celebration," Hedda Gabler" and "Cromwell."  Cox enjoyed an extended run on London's West End in "Getting On" at Queen's Theatre, returning to The Nottingham Playhouse to take the title role in Ibsen's "Brand."

Cox also played Brutus in "Julius Caesar" and starred in "Herod" and "Macbeth." In the early 1980's he also accumulated credits in "Summer Party," "Have You Anything to Declare?," the title role in "Danton's Death" and as Captain Ahab in "Moby Dick."

In 1985, Cox co-starred with Glenda Jackson in O'Neill's "Strange Interlude" on Broadway, earning his second British Theatre Association Drama Award for Best Actor.  Later the same year, he gave a tour de force performance in "Rar in the Skull," an exchange production between New York's Public Theater and London's Royal Court Theatre.

During the past decade, Cox starred in "The Danton Affair," "Misalliance," (garnering his first Olivier Award) "Fashion," "Three Sisters," "The Taming of the SHrew" (which earned him the British Theatre Association Drama Award for Best Actor), "Titus Andronicus" (winning his second Olivier Award), "Frankie & Johnny in the Claire de Lune," "King Lear" and "Richard III."  He made his musical debut in Meredith Wilson's "The Music Man."  Last year, he starred in "Skylight" at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. He recently starred in a one-man show in New York called "St. Nicholas," at Primary Stages, and is currently starring on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning play, "Art."

On television, he appear in the BBC production of "The Year of the Sex Olympics," "Z Cards," "Minder" and other series.  For the BBC, Cox starred as Henry II in the miniseries, "The Devil's Crown," J.S. Bach in "Bach Cantatas," William Wallace in "Churchill's People" and Laurent in "Therese Raquin." His more recent television credits include "The Lost Language of Cranes," the miniseries "Grushko" and "The Negotiator" for the BBC, "The Big Battalions" for Channel 4, "The Cloning of Joanna May" for A&E Network and "Six Characters in Search of an Author" for Bravo.

Cox earned his first major film role in 1970, portraying Bolshevik leader Leon Trotsky in "Nicholas and Alexandra."  He reprised his theatrical role as a miner's son in Lindsay Anderson's "In Celebration" and starred as a Scottish nobleman in the BAFTA Award-winning "The Privilege."  His first American movie was "Manhunter." 

Cox next appeared in "Hidden Agenda," Walt Disney Pictures live-action "Iron Will," "Rob Roy," "Braveheart," and "The Boxer."  He will also be seen in the upcoming "The Minus Man" and "Mad About Mambo" (note: this article is from 1998).

Also distinguished as a director, Cox helmed productions of "I Love My Love," "Mrs. Warren's Profession," The Philanderer," "The Master Builder" (in which he also starred) and most recently, "Richard III."

In 1989, he won the prestigious International Theatre institute Award for his work with Moscow Theatre Arts School in staging Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" at the Moscow Arts Theatre and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Cox is also the author of two books: The Lear Diaries, and Salem to Moscow: An Actor's Odyssey. He is also the father of two, Alan, an actor, and Margaret, a student at Trinity College in Dublin.

Credit: Rushmore press kit

Brian Cox's Filmography

Rushmore (1998)
Poodle Springs (1998) (TV) - Clayton Blackstone 
Desperate Measures (1998) - Captain Jeremiah Cassidy 
A New Window Pane (1997) 
Boxer, The (1997) - Joe Hamill 
Kiss the Girls (1997) - Chief Hatfield 
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) - Nathan 
The Glimmer Man (1996) - Mr. Smith 
Chain Reaction (1996) - Lyman Earl Collier 
Braveheart (1995) - Argyle Wallace 
Rob Roy (1995) - Killearn 
Iron Will (1994) - Angus McTeague 
Prince of Jutland (1994) - Aethelwine, Duke of Lindsey 
Grushko (1993) - Colonel Grushko 
Oeil de Vichy, L' (1993) (voice) - Narrator (English version) 
Six Characters in Search of an Author (1992) - The Director 
Hidden Agenda (1990) - Kerrigan 
Sregi Andrej Tarkovskij (1988) - Voiceover Narrator 
Manhunter (1986) - Doctor Hannibal Lektor (Hannibal Lecter) 
In Celebration (1975) - Steven Shaw 
Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) - Trotsky 

Credit: Internet Movie Database.

Rushmore Criterion Collection DVD

Braveheart

Manhunter