Succession’s Brian Cox calls HBO the “Gestapo” for this reason.

Brian Cox can crack a whip as Waystar Royco CEO Logan Roy on HBO Successionbut in real life an actor is under the power of his bosses just like everyone else.

“The Gestapo element of HBO is there,” he said during a performance on August 25 at the Edinburgh TV Festival, telling reporters not to ask about the future of the popular show. “They don’t want me to talk about it Succession.”

Even so, Cox was able to reveal a few behind-the-scenes details about the Emmy-winning show, revealing that the cast only gets their scripts two days before filming, though he wishes he had more time to sit down with them.

“Getting a script is like getting gold,” he said. “I like learning lines.”

Cox also said he insisted that his character be Scottish, which Succession showrunner Jesse Armstrong resisted at first. So it was a shock when he relented and agreed that Logan was from Dundee, Cox’s hometown. (Regarding the change, the actor said, “That’s bullshit for you royal writers.”)

The Brave heart The actor even noted that he shared the only similarity between himself and Roy’s patriarch, saying that both would share a “deep disillusionment with human experimentation.” However, he added that if they met in real life, Logan would probably “hate” him and think: “I wish Brian Cox would just shut up.”