Brian Cox gives his opinion on various actors/directors

Ed Norton - “He’s a nice lad but a bit of a pain in the arse because he fancies himself as a writer-director.”

Michael Caine - ““Michael Caine was no fan of the imbibing actor. I wouldn’t describe Michael as my favourite, but he’s Michael Caine. An institution. And being an institution will always beat having range,” Cox writes. “Caine was, and probably still is, very dismissive of the drunken-actor brigade, and one of his targets, of course, was Richard Harris, another famous drunk who became a friend.”

Johnny Depp - “Personable though I’m sure he is, is so overblown, so overrated. I mean, Edward Scissorhands. Let’s face it, if you come on with hands like that and pale, scarred-face make-up, you don’t have to do anything. And he didn’t. And subsequently, he’s done even less.”

Steven Seagal - “Steven Seagal is as ludicrous in real life as he appears on screen. He radiates a studied serenity, as though he’s on a higher plane to the rest of us, and while he’s certainly on a different plane, no doubt about that, it’s probably not a higher one.”

Quentin Tarantino - “I find his work meretricious. It’s all surface. Plot mechanics in place of depth. Style where there should be substance. I walked out of Pulp Fiction…That said, if the phone rang, I’d do it.”

Jonathan Pryce and Christopher Walken - “Christopher Walken was somewhat bemused by Jonathan Pryce, which is understandable, Jonathan being an interesting fish, kind of dark and gloomy at times. And if you can freak out Christopher Walken…"

Alan Rickman - “was one of the sweetest, kindest, nicest and most incredibly smart men I’ve ever met. Prior to acting he’d been a graphic designer and he brought the considered, laser-like precision of that profession to his work.”

David Bowie - "A skinny kid, and not a particularly good actor. He made a better pop star, that much is for certain."

Keanu Reeves - a “seeker” who has “actually become rather good over the years”

Morgan Freeman - “I’m pleased to say that although he was cold and pissed off and watching bedlam reign around him, Morgan Freeman remained an absolute gentleman.  "Being the very epitome of Morgan Freeman. The Morgan Freeman you would hope to meet. The Morgan Freeman you encounter in your dreams.”

Scarlett Johansson - “divine, funny, smart, wonderful” and “delightful.”

Spike Lee - “simply one of the best directors” he’s ever labored with and lauds Lee’s traditional “Do the Right Thing” as a “flawless movie and absolutely timeless.”  “People associate him with African American subject matter, which is fine and fair enough, but they don’t realize that he’s a consummate cineaste,” Cox writes. “His knowledge of cinema is second to none. What’s more, I’ve never known a director to be so diplomatic.”  He additionally champions Lee for “very firmly” placing Norton in his place on the set of “25th Hour.”