Brian Cox came down heavy on Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of Napoleon Bonaparte in Ridley Scott's biopic "Napoleon," calling the performance "terrible."
The "Succession" star, 77, made the remarks during a conversation at the British Library as part of HistFest 2024.
"It really is appalling," said the Scottish actor of the "truly terrible performance by Joaquin Phoenix," according to The Standard. "I don't know what he was thinking."
The Oscar-nominated historical drama, directed by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa, features Phoenix, 49, portraying Napoleon Bonaparte. Released last November, the film sees the Oscar-winning "Joker" actor star alongside Vanessa Kirby as Josephine de Beauharnais, Tahar Rahim as Paul Barras, Rupert Everett as Arthur Wellesley, and Ben Miles as Armand de Caulaincourt, People reported.
Cox said he would have played the part "a lot better than Joaquin Phoenix," adding "I don't think Ridley Scott helps him" as the film's director. "I think he's well-named. Joaquin … whack-een ... whacky. It's a sort of whacky performance," Cox said.
Commenting on the film's historical accuracy, Cox added, "You can say it's good drama. No – it's lies."
While "Napoleon" highlights various historical events, not all of them are fully accurate, as TV historian Dan Snow pointed out last year while dissecting the film's trailer, which includes scenes of Napoleon shooting at the pyramids in the Battle of Pyramids and depicts Marie Antoinette with long, frizzy locks.
"Napoleon didn't shoot at the pyramids," Snow said in part, further noting that Marie Antoinette "famously had very cropped hair for the execution, and, hey, Napoleon wasn't there," according to Variety.
Responding to historical fact checkers, Scott previously suggested they "get a life," according to The New Yorker.
Phoenix also previously spoke about the film's historical accuracies.
"If you want to really understand Napoleon, then you should probably do your own studying and reading. Because if you see this film, it's this experience told through Ridley's eyes," he said.