‘I’m very pleased we’ve got the same name’: Brian Cox meets Brian Cox

When someone mentions Brian Cox, the first question that comes to mind is, "Which Brian Cox are you talking about?" Are you talking about Prof Brian Cox, physicist, or Brian Cox, actor? It must be really hard for Brian and Brian Cox. We wondered what would happen if we invited both Brians to sit down for a long chat.

Prof Brian Edward Cox presented the Wonders of the Solar System and Forces of Nature for the British Broadcasting Corporation. Things Can Only Get Better was a New Labour song and he played keyboards for D:Ream. In August, he will host a weeklong residency at the Royal Opera House in London, where his new tour will run until October.

The National Theatre in the 70s and the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 80s were where Brian Denis Cox began his acting career. He has won awards for his 50-year career in film, TV and theatre. In the 1986 film Manhunter, he was the first actor to play the role of a serial killer. He won a Golden Globe for best actor in 2020 for his work in Succession.

The two Brians talked about everything from the universe to Succession and everything in between. Prof Brian and actor Brian are here to greet you.

One of the themes from my shows is the possibility that we are the only intelligent people in the universe. If we don't have the wisdom to control our own power, we might destroy ourselves. It would be tragic if we were the only island of meaning in the ocean of 400 billion suns.

Brian Cox thinks it's doable. In the last few years, I have stopped believing in God. Religion is confusing because we don't know who we are. Why act is one of the reasons theatre is so important to me. Religion and acting are not the same. We are in danger of destroying ourselves because religion is a cul-de-sac.

Prof Brian Religion is trying to understand our place in the universe. Is it true that acting is the same but in a more detailed and honest way?

I think that actor Brian is right. It's true that acting is honest. Religion is understandable but we don't look to ourselves. The mirror should be held up to nature. In Hamlet's advice to the players, he described it very clearly. Shakespeare is a genius because of it. If we follow this path, we will get salvation, says religion. I think it is a crock and the more I get older the more I think it is.

Prof Brian, the transfer of responsibility to an outside source is interesting. One of my heroes is Carl Sagan. The image of Earth taken from beyond Neptune is the subject of Pale Blue Dot. Nobody is coming to save us from ourselves.

I think actor Brian agrees with him more. Prof Brian doesn't think that the word "Meaning" is a scientific concept. It is a property of the brain, consciousness and living.

That's correct, actor Brian.

Prof Brian, what if there is no other place for atoms to come together into these remarkable patterns that can think, feel and write like Shakespeare? The idea that meaning comes from us is very important. I couldn't have said it better. The human experience is one of the most responsible things you can say. That is what makes me act.

There's a moment in Succession where Logan realises how lonely he is, which I found incredibly moving

Shakespeare is referred to as the great genius. There is an exploration from the playwright to the actor. Who has been the best vehicle for exploring the depths of the human condition?

You have to understand that acting is all about confusion. I talk about human beings being economic units in the film Succession. I want to know what a person is, but I get distracted and ask: "Is the cheesecake any good here?" The extraordinary thing aboutLogan is that he is a man on a journey of losing it because he cannot deal with his own issues. The first question I asked was, "Do you love your kids?" Jesse said that he loved them very much. He gets it wrong a lot. He is so complex, that is why he is fascinating. I shouldn't be giving all this away, but I had a beautiful moment yesterday where I found solace in the fact that he doesn't have any other friends. That is part of the human condition, that feeling of loneliness. That is the reason why there is a heroic element to him. The problem is that we are in a constant battle with ourselves. Prof Brian says it's difficult to deal with both characters and complicated problems in humans. You have to think about electrons as particles if you want to understand quantum mechanics. The room is filled with long wavy things. It is far more complicated than that. You have to keep those two ideas in your mind.

Brian is an actor and he agrees more.

It was like that with ProfBrian. It's easy to say he's bad.

The rule for an actor is that they don't judge themselves. We can be mean to ourselves, but we don't say this is a villain. Iago's reasons may be terribly misguided but he is locked in a destructive journey. We live in such conflicting paradoxes that dramatic art homes in on them.

Prof Brian makes the case for science education at a young age. Nature is complex but not because you need to know how many stars there are. The same argument can be made for a broad education when you experience Shakespeare.

Brian is an actor. That is the reason we have the same name. It is extraordinary and very harmful to talk to you this way because you know that we are on the same path.

Prof Brian Science isn't enough to comprehend our place in the universe. We are not at the center of the universe. The ancient Greeks thought the Earth was at the center of the universe because they observed that everything fell towards the Earth.

That is the worst thing about ego. The curse of the performer is that ego makes you believe you are the center of the universe. We need to be careful that we don't believe in our own mythology.

Prof Brian wants to know what it means to live in an eternal universe. Through the eyepiece of the telescope, you won't find meaning. The same attempt is made to explore what it means to be a human. Brian, I think it's the most important question. The question man has wrestled with as long as he has been alive is, "Why are we?"

Prof Brian, I know you're political, but I get people shouting at me on social media for what you've said on Question Time.

Brian Ha is an actor.

Prof Brian, people say: "stay in your lane." You're a physicist, right? I want to know about physics. Do people think you are an actor? I like you in Succession, but I don't like your politics.

Brian is an actor. I do have political views but they are related to my history. Money is the one thing that nobody likes to talk about and that is why I am making a documentary about it. Money is the great divider like religion. Poor people are never defensive about their circumstances. It is heartbreaking that the wealth gap is so deep.

Prof Brian, would you ever consider becoming a politician? Ronald Reagan was the epitome of an actor going into politics.

Brian Let doesn't like Reaganomics because we could be here all day.

The internal process of trying to understand is the most valuable part of work. It has been a joy to work on black holes that are difficult to comprehend.

Understanding the process is important to actor Brian.

To understand black holes you need to understand the deeply hidden structure of space and time

Prof Brian was talking about music when he discovered American jazz pianists. This amazing version of Over the Rainbow is the end of his 1995 album La Scala. He is like a musical archaeologist, he dug down so deep into the music that he found something that almost didn't exist before Einstein has the same expression, something deep hidden. Einstein was given a compass when he was young. He looked at the needle and thought about the structure of nature. To understand black holes you need to understand space and time. Is it the same thing with Shakespeare, where you might find something that he didn't know?

You go on a journey to find the hidden, that is what actor Brian thinks. Are we going to destroy each other? Would any other civilization do the same thing? Our responsibility to humanism is always being questioned. It's like little flowers that make you go. In the same way that Over the Rainbow was discovered, that bloomed! That is the greatest miracle of being human. It's the miracle of our humanity.

Prof Brian, do you remember when you both went to the same place? I saw the horror on their faces because they thought they had been double- booked. They must have thought that two Brian Coxes wouldn't show up and say hello. The table for Brian Cox needs to be there.

It annoyed me initially, but has been a great lesson to find someone who is as successful as I am. I didn't like it at first, but I thought it was unimportant. We have the same name, but then something comes into play where you say, "Well, it's only a name" It has been a pleasure to meet you, Brian, because it has proven that name doesn't matter. We have the same name but it is just one of those strange accidents.

Prof Brian can't be the only person named Brian Cox. People call them Brian and Cox.

It’s quite extraordinary to talk to you because you realise that we’re on a very similar journey

I met Brian Cox in the late 60s and he was the author of the Black Papers.

Prof Brian and I are both Brian Cox and you are Brian Cox.

Brian Cox is also an actor. It was great to talk to Brian. It definitely was. We need to get together again soon.

A 21st Century Space Odyssey tickets are on sale now. There is a website called briancoxlive.co.uk. Brian Cox's memoir, Putting the Rabbit in the Hat, can be found at guardianbookshop.com.