Actor Brian Cox was born in Dundee, the youngest of five children. He made his stage debut with Dundee Repertory Company aged just fourteen and later studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. His London debut came in 1967 when he appeared on stage in ‘As You Like It’. His prolific film career started out with his performance as Dr Hannibal Lecktor in ‘Manhunter’ and includes major Hollywood productions such as ‘Braveheart’, ‘X-Men 2’, ‘The Bourne Identity/Supremacy’ and ‘Troy’. He usually plays villains, but has on occasion taken on more sympathetic roles, such as Edward Norton's father in the film ‘25th Hour’. In 2003 he was awarded the CBE. At the unveiling of this portrait, Brian Cox remarked that he has blue eyes but the portrait has brown eyes: "It is my face with my father's eyes."