Succession star Brian Cox has revealed he likes smoking cannabis to unwind.

The Scotsman, 78, revealed he smokes a gently spliff to relax after a day’s work.

Brian, who lives in New York where the drug is legal, explained he used to be ‘wary’ of drugs and felt he was ‘too young’ to take them.

But now the Olivier award winner feels ‘the opposite’.

He told the Rosebud podcast: ‘It’s very interesting about drugs, I was very wary of drugs. I’m less wary of it now, but I was. I wasn’t inclined in that way. I just felt I was too young, quite honestly, and I felt it was a diversion that I really wasn’t interested in. 

‘It was very popular, you know, people were smoking weed left right and centre, but I tried it once and I just thought I’m not interested. I feel the opposite way now, but I did then.’

Succession star Brian Cox has revealed he smokes cannabis to ‘unwind’ after a day on stage, saying he has ‘a gentle spliff’ 

Brian is currently starring in The Score at the Theatre Royal in Haymarket opposite his wife Nicole Ansari, 56

Brian, who lives in New York where the drug is legal, explained he used to be ‘wary’ of drugs and felt he was ‘too young’ to take them 

Asked if he now uses cannabis as a relaxant, he said: ‘Absolutely. Especially when you’re doing a show like this, at the end of the day you just – I unwind. I have a gentle spliff.’

Brian is currently starring in The Score at the Theatre Royal in Haymarket opposite his wife Nicole Ansari, 56.

The couple married in 2002 and share two sons Orson Jonathan and Torin Kamran.

The pair revealed last week how they first met and how Nicole left the Succession star feeling like a ‘d***head.’

Speaking on the Dish podcast, Brian explained that they first crossed paths in 1991 in Hamburg when he was performing in King Lear.

At a party after the show, he recalled: ‘So, what happened was that there was a party arranged after the show, and there was this rather vivacious young woman with lots of… hair. She’s still got a bit of it…’

Describing how the couple hit it off, he said: ‘And we talked for, I don’t know, for hours. And I thought, wow, this is amazing, this is incredible.’

However, it wasn’t the fairytale story he hoped for, as Nicole was already in a relationship at the time.

He continued: ‘And then it turned out that she was having a relationship with another actor in the company, as she does, I mean, they do.’

Brian and Nicole tied the knot in 2002 but Brian was originally left looking like an ‘idiot’ after they first met (pictured 2003) 

Speaking on the Dish podcast, Brian explained that they first crossed paths in 1991 in Hamburg when he was performing in King Lear

Nicole and Brian share two sons Orson Jonathan, 22, (right) and Torin, 19 (left) – seen in 2015

The pair later met again in Milan, where Brian falsely ᴀssumed Nicole had come to visit him.

‘So I was in Milan, and she turned up in Milan and I thought, “oh!” And I got up, it was in a restaurant, and I got up and I [thought] “She’s come for me.” Like an idiot, you know?’

‘And everybody came in and I felt like a d***head, you know, because I stood up going, “Oh,” and it wasn’t the case.’

Nicole confirmed: ‘But I saw him, and my lover was behind me, and I thought, oh, I’ve come for him, not for him.’

Explaining how they crossed paths again eight years later, it was Nicole who made the first move.

Brian recalled: ‘Then what happened was eight years later, I’m on Broadway doing Art, playing an Art, and I got into the theatre late.

‘I came in and Jerry, the stage doorman said, “Hey Brian, you got a note. This broad left this note last night. She’s got a note that’s up there in your cubby hole, that’s the note.”‘

‘I rang the number, and it was where she was staying, and of course it was before mobile phones. So I said, “Well, can you tell her?” and she said, “Oh, she’s on the other line.”‘

‘Then just as that happened, somebody came and said, “You’ve got a no-show tonight, you’ve got a ticket.”

‘So when I spoke to Nicole, I said, “There’s a ticket. You can come to the show tonight if you want.”‘

‘So she ran all the way and she got a ticket, and so what I did, very cleverly… I pulled the card. I took her tango dancing that night.’

‘I was hopeless as a tango dancer. I thought I’d try my luck anyway. So she came and that was it…’