Brian Cox acknowledged an accidental exposure while seated in a kilt during a post‑screening question‑and‑answer session at the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday, drawing laughter and chants from the crowd.
The 79‑year‑old actor was attending the global premiere of his film Glenrothan when, according to the Hollywood Reporter, a moviegoer informed him that he was unintentionally flashing the audience from his seated position. “Is it that bad? Or that good?” Cox responded, before explaining that “you have to wear the kilt the proper way” and calling the garment “a f–king wonderful freedom.”
Cox attempted to steer the conversation back to his film, saying he wanted to tell the story his way and contrasting that approach with filmmakers who “cover their ass…or not,” a remark he later called “an unfortunate phrase.” Audience members chanted “Your legs! Your legs!” as the exchange continued, and Cox turned his amusement toward producer Neil Zeigler, blaming him for encouraging the kilt choice. “Whose idea was it to wear these f–ing kilts? Certainly not my idea,” Cox said, adding that producers “always try to f–k you up, at the end of the day.”
The actor also joked that Zeigler was “probably wearing underpants,” noting that kilts are “about being free and easy.” He repeated the light‑hearted line about freedom several times as the panel progressed.
Cox was at TIFF to debut Glenrothan, and photographers captured him in a traditional black kilt on the red carpet. The incident drew attention from attendees and media covering the festival, which runs each September and regularly features filmmakers and actors at post‑screening panels.
The exchange follows a pattern of candid remarks from the actor in recent years. In April, Cox criticized Joaquin Phoenix’s turn in Napoleon during a live talk, calling the performance “truly terrible,” a comment reported by the Standard. In March, he told Haute Living New York that Meghan Markle “knew what she was getting into” when she married Prince Harry in 2018, a remark he later said he softened by expressing “enormous sympathy” for the couple. In his 2022 memoir Putting the Rabbit in the Hat, Cox described Johnny Depp as “so overblown, so overrated,” remarks that drew public attention.
Festival organizers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Cox continued to participate in the panel after the exchange, and the screening for Glenrothan proceeded as scheduled.
The Toronto International Film Festival is a major platform for premieres and talent appearances; such candid moments at public panels have occasionally become part of media coverage of the festival. Cox’s remarks at the TIFF appearance were widely reported by outlets attending the event, which included a live audience for the film’s global premiere.