Brian Cox recalls being 'agog' at Brad Pitt's looks on 'Troy': 'My God! This guy is stunning'

In "Troy," which was loosely based on Homer's "Iliad," Brad Pitt plays Achilles, Greece's greatest warrior.

• Brian Cox said he was "agog" at Brad Pitt's beauty during the shooting of 2004's "Troy."
• In the film, Brad Pitt plays Greek war general Achilles. 
• "I'm straight but I thought, 'Wow, my God! This guy is stunning,'" Cox said.

Brian Cox said he was left in awe of Brad Pitt's beauty when the pair shot the 2004 historical war drama "Troy."

The "Succession" star discussed his time working alongside Pitt in a recent video with Vanity Fair, during which he broke down some of his most famous roles.  

In "Troy," which was loosely based on Homer's "Iliad," Brad Pitt plays Achilles, Greece's greatest warrior, while Cox is Agamemnon, the King of the united Greek city-states.

"I remember at one point being agog at Brad," Cox said of his time on the "Troy" set. 

"He'd never been in costumes like that … Brad walked on set and my jaw was down because he was so stunningly beautiful. I'm straight but I thought, 'Wow, my God! This guy is stunning.' What chance does one have on the screen against this beautiful, beautiful man?"

Cox — who has enjoyed a decades-long career across the stage and screen — later added that the role of Agamemnon in "Troy" is the only acting role he has actively attempted to land. 

"I've never pursued anything," Cox said. "I've always allowed it to fall out the way it fell out. I knew the part was available and I knew I was dead right for the role. I volunteered to fly myself to London to meet Wolfgang Petersen. It was a great cast."

"Troy" also starred Orlando Bloom, Diane Kruger, and Peter O'Toole. 

Cox recently made headlines after it was revealed that he turned down the chance to play King Robert on "Game of Thrones" due to HBO's salary offer.

In an excerpt from his new memoir published by Esquire, Cox wrote: "I'm often asked if I was offered a role in 'Game of Thrones' — reason being that every other bugger was — and the answer is, yes, I was supposed to be a king called Robert Baratheon, who apparently died when he was gored by a boar in the first season." 

He added: "I was going to be killed off fairly early on, so I wouldn't have had any of the benefits of the long-term effects of a successful series where your wages go up with each passing season."