Brian Cox has expressed regret over becoming a CBE and has said he would “never” accept a knighthood.
The Dundee-born Succession star, who is a campaigner for Scottish independence, said he should have “thought better” when he accepted the honour in 2003 for his services to drama.
“I have a royalist sister and a republican sister and I thought, well my royalist sister will be happy but she couldn’t give a s**t,” he said. “That was my justification.
“Now I would never be a knight. I wouldn’t want to do that. A CBE is usually a precursor to getting a knighthood. I got my CBE a while ago and I have been so active in Scottish independence. They are determined to keep the Queen, she goes with the whole nine yards [so] we don’t get rid of her. It will never be a proper republic.”
Cox won Best Actor in a TV Drama for his role as the media magnate Logan Roy in Succession at the Golden Globes earlier this month.
The actor, who recently claimed he was "touched up" by Princess Margaret, is not the first arts figure to criticise the British honours, which are awarded by the Queen.
David Bowie, Danny Boyle, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, John Lennon and Benjamin Zephaniah are among those who have previously rejected CBEs, OBEs and MBEs.
