Brian Cox says he regrets calling Johnny Depp ‘overrated’: ‘I went for the easy joke’

Brian Cox has admitted that he regrets calling Johnny Depp “overrated” in his autobiography.

The actor, who plays Logan Roy on Succession, made comments about Depp, as well as others in the industry, in his 2021 memoirPutting the Rabbit in the Hat.

“Personable though I’m sure he is, he is so overblown, so overrated,” he wrote of the former Fantastic Beasts star’s acting.

During his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday (14 March), Cox said that, in hindsight, he is remorseful about his “harsh” words.

When asked by Kimmel whether he’d heard from Depp’s representatives since the book was published, Cox jokingly replied: “I heard a lot from his, they call it a fan club but it’s some kind of CIA agency that works on his behalf.”

He then told Kimmel that he’d made an effort to rectify his remarks by including a note in a later version of the autobiography.

“I’ve written an addendum to this book, it’s going to be published in paperback in the UK,” Cox said.

“I just thought I was being a bit harsh. You know what it’s like, you go for the easy joke. And I went for the easy joke.

“That was what happened, and I sort of regretted it. Because I’m not like that normally; I was just being a bit glib, a bit flip.”

Later in the conversation, Kimmel asked Cox whether he thought actors believed they were overrated, themselves.

“I think they do. I think a lot of times actors think they’re overrated, and some think they’re underrated,” he reasoned.

“Let’s put it this way: most of them think they’re not rated at all.”