This article is about the English physicist often on TV. For the Scottish actor, see Brian Cox (actor). For other people with this name, see Brian Cox.
Cox has been described as the natural successor for the BBC's scientific programming by David Attenborough.[7] Before his academic career, Cox was a keyboard player for the British bands Dare and D:Ream.
Cox has stated in many interviews and in an episode of Wonders of the Universe[16] that when he was 12, the book Cosmos by Carl Sagan was a key factor in inspiring him to become a physicist.[9] He said on The Jonathan Ross Show that he performed poorly on his maths A-level exam: "I got a D... I was really not very good... I found out you need to practise."[17]
Music
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Cox was a keyboard player with the rock band Dare.[18] Dare released two albums with Cox – Out of the Silence in 1988 and Blood from Stone in 1991. He subsequently joined dance act D:Ream,[19] a group that had several hits in the UK charts.[20] Cox wrote the foreword of the official Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark biography, OMD: Pretending to See the Future (2018), having been an "obsessive" fan of the band in his youth. He said of their songs, "They shaped my character and inspired me to make music."[21]
Cox has appeared in many science programmes for BBC radio and television,[5][48] including In Einstein's Shadow,[49] the BBC Horizon series,[50] ("The Six Billion Dollar Experiment", "What on Earth is Wrong with Gravity?", "Do You Know What Time It Is?", and "Can we Make a Star on Earth?") and as a voice-over for the BBC's Bitesize revision programmes. He presented the five-part BBC Two television series Wonders of the Solar System in early 2010 and a follow-up four-part series, Wonders of the Universe, which began on 6 March 2011.[51]Wonders of Life, which he describes as "a physicist's take on life/natural history", was broadcast in 2013.[52] He co-presents Space Hoppers and has also featured in Dani's House on CBBC.[53]
Cox also presented a three-part BBC series called Science Britannica which sees him explore the contribution of British scientists over the last 350 years, as well as the relationship between British science and the public perception thereof.[54]
BBC Two commissioned Cox to copresent Stargazing Live, a three-day live astronomy series in January 2011– co-presented with comedian Dara Ó Briain and featuring chat show host Jonathan Ross[55]– linked to events across the United Kingdom. A second and a third series featuring a variety of guests ran in January 2012 and January 2013.[56]
Cox has also appeared numerous times at TED, giving talks on the LHC and particle physics.[63][64] In 2009 he appeared in People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive.[65] In 2010, he was featured in The Case for Mars by Symphony of Science. In November 2010 he made a promotional appearance in the Covent GardenApple Store, talking about his new e-book set to accompany his new television series as well as answering audience questions.[66]
Cox gave the Royal Television Society's 2010 Huw Wheldon Memorial Lecture on "Science, a Challenge to TV Orthodoxy", in which he examined problems in media coverage of science and news about science. It was subsequently broadcast on BBC Two. On 4 March, a talk entitled "Frankenstein's Science" at the National Theatre featured Cox in discussion with biographer Richard Holmes on Mary Shelley's exploration of humanity's desire to bring life to an inanimate object and whether the notion is possible, in both the 19th century and today.[67]
On 6 March 2011, Cox appeared as a guest at Patrick Moore's 700th episode anniversary of The Sky at Night. He has said that he is a lifelong fan of the programme, and that it helped inspire him to become a physicist. On 10 March 2011, he gave the Ninth Douglas Adams Memorial Lecture.
Cox was the science advisor for the science fiction film Sunshine. On the DVD release, he provides an audio commentary where he discusses scientific accuracies (and inaccuracies) depicted in the film. He also was featured on the Discovery Channel special Megaworld: Switzerland. In 2013, he presented another series of Wonders of Life.
On 15 March 2011, he won Best Presenter and Best Science/Natural History programme by the Royal Television Society for Wonders of the Universe. On 25 March 2011, he won twice at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards for 'Best Performer' in a non-acting role, while Wonders of the Solar System was named best documentary series of 2010.[80][81]
Cox has voiced his concerns about Brexit, saying he feels it is a "weakening of our interaction with our neighbouring countries" and that "it cannot be the right trajectory."[88] On 23 June 2018, the People's Vote march was held in London to mark the second anniversary of the referendum to leave the European Union. Cox tweeted, "if [a people's vote were] held on known exit terms and leave commanded majority, I'd back it as settled, informed decision. That's my argument for having one."[89] Cox has said referring to the will of "the British people" should be banned from political discourse, calling the phrase's usage by ConservativeMPPriti Patel "inflammatory and divisive".[90]
Personal life
In 2003, Cox married American television presenter and writer Gia Milinovich in Duluth, Minnesota. They have a son, born in 2009, and Milinovich has a son from a previous relationship. They currently live in Battersea, London.[91]
Despite lacking a belief in deities, Cox has rejected the label "atheist" and has instead preferred to describe himself as having "no personal faith".[92] In 2009, he contributed to the charity book The Atheist's Guide to Christmas.[93] He is a humanist, and is a Distinguished Supporter of Humanists UK.[94] In June 2019, Cox explained that he cannot be sure there is no God and that science cannot answer every question.[95]
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D:Ream are an English pop and dance group. They had a UK No. 1 hit with "Things Can Only Get Better" in 1994. Eight more top 40 hits followed, including "U R the Best Thing" and "Shoot Me with Your Love". Their two 1990s studio albums reached the UK top five.
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