Brian Cox thinks that the cinema is “in a very bad way”, with the Marvel and DC Universes partly to blame.

The legendary stage and screen actor, who recently won critical acclaim for his award-winning role on the HBO series. Succession – he spoke to one Edinburgh International Film Festival panel saturday When asked about the recent critical success of the globally popular TV shows, Cox cited the latest MCU installment Deadpool and Wolverine as a great example of cinematic “party time”.

“What's happened is that television is doing what film used to do,” Cox told the audience about the originality of television. “I think the cinema is very bad. I think it's lost its place because, in part, of the grandiose element between Marvel and DC and all that. And I think it's starting to implode, actually. You're missing the plot.”

He talked about Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman Deadpool and Wolverine while referring to how movies are “making a lot of money that will make everybody happy, but as far as the work goes, it gets diluted after that. You're getting the same… I mean, I've done that kind of thing [projects].”

Cox played William Stryker Jr. a X2: X-Men United (a military scientist who persuades Logan to become Wolverine) and said that he “forgets” the fact that he “created” Wolverine. “Deadpool knows the guy…Wolverine, which I created but forgot about. In fact,” he joked, “when these movies are on, there's always a little bit of me [as Stryker] and they never pay me money.

“So it's become a party moment for some actors to do these things,” Cox added. “When you know Hugh Jackman can do a little bit more, Ryan Reynolds … but it's because they go that way and it's the box office. They make a lot of money. You can't knock him.”

Television is moving forward, he continued, with incredible shows like Jesse Armstrong's Succession and those of Netflix Ripleystarring Andrew Scott. “There are so many [shows] and you have the honor of telling the story over a period of time.” The actor said his childhood films such as On the promenade they're what made him want to “be the actor I've become,” but it's partially eradicated.

Cox spoke briefly about growing up in Dundee, Scotland, where there were 21 theaters in the city. “From the age of 6 to 8, I visited them all.” He contrasted the cinema of his time with the challenges of modern casting processes for actors today.

“Now, they want every young actor or actress to make their own tapes. They have to do it without knowing anybody, and sometimes they don't even get the fucking result, because they're ignored. They spend three days making a own tape, which isn't going anywhere.” Casting directors and actors used to “have a relationship,” Cox said, so up-and-coming industry professionals had an idea of ​​where things were going. “Whereas now , young actors are in limbo and it's disgusting, frankly, because it actually stops what an actor can do or who an actor is.

“It's a terrible, terrible system. I wish it would stop. I wish we could get back to the individual relationship and that's what art is about. It's about relationships.”

The panel Cox was speaking on was moderated by Rowan Woods, director of the Edinburgh TV Festival, and included panelists Alex Walton of WME, producer Afolabi Kuti, ventriloquist-turned-director Nina Conti and director Daniel Reisinger , that talked to The Hollywood Reporter on friday. The topic was how those in live and television can successfully transition into filmmaking.

Cox even revealed that he is working on his own directorial debut, a play he described as “a love letter to Scotland”. He said he has a lot of respect for the directors, like Mark Mylod, who worked there Succession. But being a good director requires giving up control, Cox added. “When you're thinking of 50 million things, and someone says, 'What do you want him to wear?' This or that? I don't give a shit. Whatever you wear. It's okay, you know? That's what allowing people to do their jobs is all about.

“If you have a production designer, don't get in their way. If you have a makeup artist, don't get in their way. They are there for a reason, and they are there to join the community and offer what their skill is. I think there is too much control that is done. Because control is the death of any art form, because it's not about control, it's about things that flow, things that move, you know?”