Scottish actor James Cosmo followed in his father’s acting footsteps.
Cosmo revealed that growing up on the banks of Scotland, he always looked up to his hardworking father, which eventually lead him to his breakout role in “Braveheart.”
He opened up about how his tough father inspired him to pursue a career in Hollywood.
“Early on, my father, James Copeland, studied acting and worked for the police department and was a river bailiff, enforcing local fishing laws. He was a highly intelligent man and a talented writer and poet,” Cosmo told the Wall Street Journal.
Mel Gibson and James Cosmo in a scene from the film “Braveheart,” 1995.
(20th Century-Fox/Getty Images)
When Cosmo was just 5-years-old, his father moved to London solo to pursue his acting career.
After Copeland secured a role in a play with famous comedic actress, Peggy Mount, Cosmo, his mother and sister traveled by horse and wagon to live with him in London.
Cosmo went on to describe his time with his father saying he would visit him backstage at the theater and meet his actor friends at bars, including Peter O’Toole and Sean Connery.
Cosmo — who took his mother’s maiden name — said after a few years, they moved back to Scotland while his father stayed in London. He wasn’t sure of the reason, he told the media outlet.
James Cosmo revealed that he always looked up to his hardworking father, which eventually lead him to his breakout role in “Braveheart.”
(Getty Images)
However, at the age of 18, he hitchhiked back to London to visit his father, which opened up the world of acting for him.
“He introduced me to Prudence Fitzgerald, a TV director. When she asked if I was an actor, too, I said, ‘Yeah.’ My father didn’t say a word. I never studied acting. I’ve always been an autodidact.”
Actor James Cosmo arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere of HBO’s “Game Of Thrones” Season 3.
(Getty Images)
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The “Game of Thrones” star noted that the TV director helped him land his first acting gig, playing a choirboy in a TV drama. Since then his career has taken off.
After Cosmo’s father introduced him to his agent, the Scottish actor landed a role in the film “The Battle of Britain” in 1968 and admitted he was “terrified.” He went on to book several more acting jobs afterwards.
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In 1994, actor-director Mel Gibson noticed Cosmo in a British TV drama series titled “Roughnecks.” Gibson then cast him in “Braveheart,” which Cosmo calls a “huge break.”
Cosmo shares two boys with his wife Annie and currently resides in Surrey, England.
The 75-year-old actor has starred in several television shows and movies, including “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” “Game of Thrones,” “Highlander” and “Troy.”
