BRIAN Cox has spoken out about Scottish independence ahead of a major rally and march in the capital today.
The Scottish acting legend, known for his starring role in Succession, spoke ahead of a major Scottish independence march and rally in Edinburgh on Saturday, which he is set to address.
In an interview with The Scotsman, Cox said he fully supported John Swinney and would vote SNP in May's Holyrood elections, describing the party as "the only ones with any sense" and wants Scotland to "get back to who we were as a nation".
“It’s time that we got back to who we were as a nation, how we led, how we created the modern world, and understand our virtue as Scots,” he said.
“We’ve got to be front and forward with our ideas, and at the moment we’re not. At the moment we’re just trying to be careful.”
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Cox described Swinney as "a really good man", adding: "That's what we need: goodness. We haven't got enough goodness, there's too many bad people.
"John's a caring man and deserves to be given the respect that he's earned, quite frankly."
The acting legend went on to say that a new federal framework is needed across the UK in order to avoid "cutting ourselves off".
He said: "It's all very well saying we're independent, but the danger is cutting ourselves off. That mustn't happen. We have to be responsible for these islands, and not as a poor relation, but as a relation that means something and contributes something positive.
"I want an independent Scotland, I want an independent Wales, and I also want an independent Northern Ireland until the Irish get it together again, because that's the future."
Cox continued: “That’s the only way we’re going to survive – by being equal, not by being some poor f***ing relation, because we’ve been the poor f***ing relation for far too f***ing long, and we’ve put up with it, because that’s what we are. We’re known as the long suffering people, it’s never got any better.
“It’s not a United Kingdom, it’s never been a f***ing United Kingdom, it’s a disunited kingdom.”
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When asked whether enough had been done in the independence movement to advance such a case, the Scotsman said he replied with a smile: "No, because I think I'm the only one who's been advancing them, quite frankly."
"I haven't heard anyone else go on about it," he added with a laugh.
Cox also gave his verdict on Reform UK, describing party leader Nigel Farage as "totally appalling" and "a pain in the tits if ever there was one".
"That's the way the world is moving, it's moving towards oligarchy and fascism, and we've got to stop it," he added.
When asked what his message was to voters in Scotland considering backing Reform, he said: "What are the Scottish people who think he [Farage] is the answer thinking about? He's not the answer, he's the f***ing last thing but the answer.
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"It's absolute desperation and alienation. We've been alienated for so long, people are thinking, 'What about this?'. But no, people, not this guy, anything else but this guy, because he's the wrong man, he's hideous."
Cox also spoke on Iran, expressing concern at what the US has done under the watch of Donald Trump.
"He never has an exit strategy, because he can't think further than his own stupidity," he said.
"The man is an incredible deadbeat, a deadbeat on human society. He's a f***ing nuisance, and he's ignorant, he's so f***ing ignorant about what's going on in the world."
He added: "He's not interested in the people of Iran, that's clearly not why he's gone in, he's gone into Iran for the oil. It's all about oil, it's got f*** all to do with people.
"He's disgusting, and his partner in crime, Netanyahu [Israeli prime minister], is equally disgusting. He should be in prison, quite frankly."