Desert Island Discs

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Castaway guests share the soundtrack of their lives.

Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.

BBC Radio 4 FM

Desert Island Discs: Brian Cox, actor

Classic Desert Island Discs - Brian Cox

Brian Cox, actor

BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Brian Cox, actor

Brian Cox, actor, shares the soundtrack of his life. With Lauren Laverne.

Brian Cox, actor, chooses the eight tracks, book and luxury he would want take if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

Brian Cox CBE is a Scottish actor whose career spans almost 60 years, from his early days sweeping the stage at his local theatre in Dundee to his current Golden Globe-winning role as the media patriarch Logan Roy in the HBO series Succession. He has appeared in more than 100 films, many television series, and has won two Olivier awards for his work on stage. 

Brian Cox was born in 1946, the youngest of five children, and grew up in a working-class household in Dundee. His father died of cancer when he was eight and his mother, who was receiving regular psychiatric treatment, was unable to take care of him. He moved in with his sister Betty and her family.

He left school aged 14 with no qualifications, and started out as a stage hand and stage cleaner at Dundee Rep, before winning a place at drama school. Years of theatre work followed, alongside actors such as Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Albert Finney. His later stage roles include acclaimed performances as King Lear at the National Theatre, and Titus Andronicus for the Royal Shakespeare Company. On film, his work includes the first screen portrayal of Hannibal Lecter - renamed Lecktor - in Manhunter, and blockbusters such as The Bourne Identity, X-Men 2, Braveheart and Troy. 

He received a CBE in 2002, and lives in New York City with his second wife Nicole Ansari. 

DISC ONE: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Johnny Cash    
DISC TWO: Saturday Night at the Movies by The Drifters 
DISC THREE: The Air That I Breathe by KD Lang    
DISC FOUR: Get Back by The Beatles    
DISC FIVE:  La quête by Jacques Brel
DISC SIX:  Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell
DISC SEVEN:  God Only Knows by The Beach Boys
DISC EIGHT: Don’t Get Me Wrong by The Pretenders

BOOK CHOICE:  In Search of the Miraculous by P.D. Ouspensky
LUXURY ITEM:  A sewing kit
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE:  God Only Knows by The Beach Boys   

Presenter:  Lauren Laverne
Producer:  Sarah Taylor

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