AWARD-WINNING Scottish actor Brian Cox has revealed he believes independence will happen within his lifetime.

The 75-year-old, a former Labour Party man who came out in support of self-determination in 2012 and later joined the SNP, discussed his political beliefs in an interview promoting season three of HBO’s Succession.

New York-based Cox, who plays Logan Roy, spoke to the Radio Times following a summer holiday in his home country.

He explained he’d left Scotland when he was younger due to his “ambition”, but now the country is “like an elastic band” that pulls him back.

“It’s a beautiful country and the possibilities are huge,” he said.

Cox recently generated backlash from those not convinced by the arguments of the Yes campaign after praising the “astonishing” work of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The National:

As he is based in the US rather than his native Dundee, some of those opposed to the socialist’s beliefs argued he didn’t have a right to speak on Scotland’s politics.

Cox said he’d only gone to America to make films, noting that the UK gets “small after a while”.

The actor, who has a number of awards under his belt including a Golden Globe for his role in Succession, explained: “I was 50 and really wanted to give cinema a go. I was too old to be a leading man and didn’t really want that responsibility.”

The SNP member, who voiced a campaign video for the party last year, set out where he stands on leaving the Union following his recent visit to Scotland.

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“I now think Scottish independence will happen, and will happen in my lifetime, which I never would have credited,” Cox told the magazine. “Back in the 90s, I never believed in the President Sir Sean Connery stuff. But now I think something similar could happen.”

Cox will appear on the BBC’s flagship politics debate programme Question Time later this week when it is hosted from Glasgow.

He also stars in Succession season three, which premieres on Sky Atlantic today.