People.com Entertainment Movies Brian Cox Recalls Brad Pitt as 'Stunningly Beautiful' on 'Troy' Set: 'I'm Straight But I Thought Wow' Brian Cox said he was "agog" at costar Brad Pitt's look in the 2004 movie Troy By Benjamin VanHoose Benjamin VanHoose Twitter Benjamin VanHoose is an Associate Editor on the Movies team at PEOPLE. He's worked at PEOPLE for over three years as a writer and reporter across our Entertainment, Lifestyle and News teams, covering everything from the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard trial to the Oscars. He regularly covers red carpet events and has interviewed stars like Drew Barrymore, Ryan Reynolds and Kirsten Dunst. He previously worked as a copy editor at Topix Media Lab. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 2, 2022 10:58 AM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Alex Bailey/Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock (2) Brian Cox was impressed by Brad Pitt's sword-and-sandal swagger. The Succession actor, 75, looked back at his career in a new video with Vanity Fair, at one point reflecting on his time making 2004's Troy. In it, Cox played Agamemnon. Cox said he had a "great experience" working with the "great cast" that included Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana, Brendan Gleeson, Diane Kruger and Sean Bean. Cox recalled being taken aback by lead actor Pitt's appearance on set. "I remember at one point," he said, "just kind of being agog at Brad 'cause, you know, he'd never been in costumes like that. We had all experienced these great costume epics because we'd spent most of our time like that, if we'd done the classical theater; we were always without pants! Brad walked on and my jaw was down because he was so stunningly beautiful." "I mean, I'm straight, but I just thought, 'Wow! My God, this guy is stunning!' " Cox added with a laugh. "What chance does one have sharing the screen with this beautiful, beautiful man?" Brian Cox Says He Turned Down Role on Game of Thrones Because Pay Was 'Not All That Great' Brad Pitt. Getty Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Pitt previously opened up about how Troy marked a turning point in his career. The Oscar winner told The New York Times Magazine in 2019 that he was "disappointed" in the film. "I had to do Troy because — I guess I can say all this now — I pulled out of another movie and then had to do something for the studio. So I was put in Troy," he said. "It wasn't painful, but I realized that the way that movie was being told was not how I wanted it to be. I made my own mistakes in it." RELATED VIDEO: Why Brad Pitt Needed a Moment to 'Catch His Breath' After His Big Oscar Win "What am I trying to say about Troy? I could not get out of the middle of the frame. It was driving me crazy. I'd become spoiled working with David Fincher. It's no slight on [Troy director] Wolfgang Petersen. Das Boot is one of the all-time great films," continued Pitt. "But somewhere in it, Troy became a commercial kind of thing. Every shot was like, 'Here's the hero!' There was no mystery." Added Pitt, "So about that time I made a decision that I was only going to invest in quality stories, for lack of a better term. It was a distinct shift that led to the next decade of films."