Mild SPOILERS are ahead for The Parenting, now streaming on Max.
One of the new movies streaming to definitely check out this weekend is The Parenting – which is an easy sell once you see the cast assembled for the horror comedy. The likes of Brian Cox, Edie Falco, Lisa Kudrow, Dean Norris and Parker Posey all come together for a hilarious haunting movie at a remote getaway. While I wasn’t expecting Brian Cox being the actor of the bunch to get possessed, what surprised me more was what happened when I interviewed the cast and filmmakers. I got two different answers regarding Cox going nude for the movie, and no, I wasn’t even looking for the answer to that question from the get go.
First off, when I spoke to the director of The Parenting, Craig Johnson, he spoke to nabbing Brian Cox for the movie. In his words:
Brian Cox was the first one to sign on and, and I have to say that surprised me. The studio really wanted him, and I was like, ‘He’s never gonna do it. You can ask.; And then when he did, I was, you know, I love the movie. The writing is so good, of course Brian is gonna sign on. And, I think he kind of legitimized it with his actor pedigree because then we’re bringing in Edie Falco and, and Lisa Kudrow and Dean Norris and Parker [Posey], all these incredible actors.
Especially since he was part of the Succession cast, and the actor has been known to be critical of the Hollywood industry, Johnson admits he really didn’t expect Cox to say yes to his silly movie. But, when he did, it allowed the production to get so many huge names to round out the cast.
During my chat with Dean Norris, famously from Breaking Bad, he shared his wonderful experience working with the 78-year-old, but I wasn’t prepared for him to out Cox for showing his actual butt in the movie. As Norris said:
This was right after Succession. Maybe he had another season left because we filmed this a couple years ago. First of all, I loved the guy. I love him as an actor and he’s a crotchety old guy. I had a few drinks with him over the course of the movie. And I always loved talking to him. Fun guy. But, I thought he was really courageous to be willing at his age, to just be naked in the movie. You know what I’m saying? I was like, God bless him, man. He just delved into it, he was just like, ‘Oh, this is the thing I’m doing.’ To see him after, ’cause I was a huge fan of succession, to see him do this after seeing him do that was an amazing experience. And there were no stunt doubles by the way. That was all him. That’s his ass.
While I was talking to Norris, The Parenting actor applauded Brian Cox for taking on the role, especially as a kind of foil to his role of Logan Roy in Succession in recent years. The Scottish performer is also a classically trained Shakespearean actor who has won two Laurence Olivier Awards for productions he was part of in the ‘80s.
After the revelation, which occurs in the movie while Cox’s character becomes possessed by an entity in their cabin, I followed up with Johnson on the detail and he had something else to say about the scene:
He was game for it. You know, I will reveal a little cinema secret. There is a butt double there.
I’m not sure what to do with this range of answers. But honestly, it matters less to me if Brian Cox actually dropped his pants for The Parenting, and more that there’s actually a butt double discrepancy here. Is Dean Norris just messing with us and his new friend Cox? When you’re talking to actors, it can be hard to tell exactly what’s honest and what’s a great performance sometimes, but it was certainly believable when he brought it up.
No matter, someone’s butt is in The Parenting, and it’s a funny moment amidst a lot of fun improv throughout the movie. Another cast member also told us about a Friends moment that happened with Lisa Kudrow on set as well.