Putting the Rabbit in the Hat

"Cox writes eloquently about his origins in Dundee, Scotland, as the youngest of five children who occasionally had to beg for batter bits from the local chip shop. . .[O]n the page, at least, he is present, lively and pouring forth."

"[Cox] offers a bold, funny account of his path from an impoverished boyhood in Scotland to the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and Hollywood. The narrative is punctuated with gossip ('Did I forget to mention that I got touched up by Princess Margaret once?'), frank appraisals of industry bigwigs (Johnny Depp is 'so overblown, so overrated'), and frank reflections on his own shortcomings as a spouse and father. At its core, though, the book is a meditation on craft and a paean to acting."

"Putting the Rabbit in the Hat tracks [Cox's] journey from embattled working-class lad in Dundee, Scotland, to, at age 75, improbable pop-culture icon — and forfeits none of the spiky candor that got him there."

"The versatile actor’s voice rings loud in this no-holds-barred memoir that traces his rags-to-riches story."

"Wisdom, a modicum of modesty, and delicious gossip make for an entertaining memoir."

"In this candid work, Scottish actor Cox (Salem to Moscow), of HBO’s Succession, chronicles the triumphs and setbacks in his distinguished career. . . [I]ts prickly honesty is delightfully refreshing."

“[Cox’s] road to fame makes for fascinating reading.”

"[C]andid and engaging. . . Theater fans and viewers of Succession will enjoy the personal stories this accomplished actor and raconteur has to tell."

"[A]musingly irreverent."

"An enjoyable and conversational backstage pass to the entire life of a highly respected character actor."

"[U]ndoubtedly [Cox's] most comprehensive, and candid, work."

“A life well lived and a story well told. From first page to last, Brian Cox the great actor is Brian Cox the great storyteller, and nobody is spared his sharp eye and his caustic wit, himself and some big Hollywood names included. He is brutally honest about who and what he likes and doesn’t like, and honest too about his own failings. But what shines through every page is a man who loves being an actor and who has a deep understanding of why culture, and especially theatre and film, really matter.”

“Rage and vulnerability, loss and passion, self-doubt, triumphs and laughs. Brian Cox’s memoir brings to mind the Blake poem ‘What is the price of experience? Do men buy it for a song? Or wisdom for a dance in the street? No, it is bought with the price of all that a man hath: his wife, his house his children.’ What a treat and privilege to be invited in. I’ve never read a book that conveys the joy, grace and pain of the journey of being an actor and a human more honestly and with such straightforward blistering charm.”

“It is much more than a rabbit Mr. Cox pulls out of his hat. In this candid vision of his life it is revealed how it is he is able so convincingly, authentically and uniquely to play such an abundance of characters. All of them different, all of them real, all of them him.”

“Brian Cox is not only one of the greatest actors of his generation, he is a gentleman among men. Kind, wise, funny and intense in the best ways possible, Brian is also a wonderful tale-teller as this book proves. It is an honor to call him a friend and I’m so proud of him. What a life well lived.”

“Wonderfully honest, touching and funny.”

“There has always been a coiled-spring energy to Brian’s acting and, now in his 70s, he has lost none of it. This book is like listening to him talk, switching from anecdote to diatribe to honest self-reflection and back to his original story before he interrupted himself. The effect is of undiminished curiosity and passion for life and work. All his observations are laced with his characteristic generosity, self-deprecation and cut-the-crap wisdom.”