Brian Cox’s actress wife says they almost broke up after his career took off and hers stalled “overnight”.
Brian Cox’s actress wife says they almost broke up after his career took off and hers stalled ‘overnight’
The 77-year-old ‘Succession’ star’s partner Nicole Ansari, 55, who became his third wife in 2002, also said his cruel character in the HBO drama “put her off” her husband.
German mum-of-two Nicole told The Sunday Times: “I had a great career before I met Brian, but when I moved to London with him his career took off and mine stopped overnight. We almost broke up.
“Instead we got married and I conceived our son on our wedding night.”
She added the night they married she felt a “presence” and heard a “little boy’s voice saying, ‘Hi. I’m Jonathan.’
Nicole said: “I later told Brian and he said, ‘(Rubbish.) But nine months later our son Orson Jonathan was born.”
Turning to how she found his ‘Succession’ media mogul character Logan Roy “vile”, the actress added:
She added: “I fell in love with a Shakespearean actor, not a TV star. Now he is mainstream and women are flocking.
“I knew he was sexy before the rest of the world. But it worries me women find the vile toxic bully Logan Roy sexy. It totally puts me off.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it, ‘Succession’ didn’t mean that much to me.”
Brian and Nicole git hitched in 2002 after they met in Hamburg in 1990 while he was on a world tour of ‘King Lear’.
Nicole’s comments about women “flocking” to Brian come after he admitted his fame due to ‘Succession’ has led to him losing his privacy.
He told The Guardian: “I’ve lost my anonymity, and I’ve realised that was what was important to me.
“I haven’t ever experienced anything like this. I mean, you ask for success in your work, and you get it, and then you have to deal with the consequences.
“I’ve always valued my privacy, but it’s gone. I’ve been very lucky that I’ve had it for so long.
“You know, I’ve been doing this for over 60 years. And finally it’s over.”
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