Meet your new favourite actor Laurence Fox, currently trending on Twitter because of his shocking appearance on BBC’s Question Time last night.
It was shocking because instead of spouting the usual leftist pabulum, Fox boldly revealed himself as an anti-woke crusader.
On the hypocrisy of actors who rack up air miles:
“Yeah the carbon footprint’s huge. But we make up for it by preaching to everyone how they should change their lives.”
On Meghan and Harry wanting to keep the perks of royalty while having independent lives:
“I do think there’s a little bit of having cake and eating it, which I don’t enjoy.”
On the racism industry:
“One of the dangerous things about throwing racism around in this country which we’re doing a lot at the moment is that people become so conscious of it that things like the Manchester grooming scandal get ignored. We… should not call someone racist just when they don’t agree with you.”
On being called out [by irritating fellow panellist Shami Chakrabati] for choosing a man, rather than one of the four female candidates to be the next leader of the Labour party:
“Oh it’s not about women. Jeepers creepers. Sorry. Let me rewind. [Looking sarcastically at Chakrabati] Any of the women. Because it’s really important what gender you are rather than what your politics are…”
Laurence Fox is the son of actor James Fox (The Servant; Performance) and a member the extended acting dynasty which also includes (uncle) Edward; and cousins Emelia and Freddie. For nine seasons, he starred as Detective Sergeant James Hathaway in the Inspector Morse spin off Lewis. Most recently he played Lord Palmerston in the ITV/PBS series Victoria, though not the scene where Palmerston dies in flagrante with a chambermaid on the billiard table.
You can see more of Laurence Fox on the podcast I recorded with him for the Delingpod earlier this week. Here is the video version. The audio versions are here, here, and here.
“Do you think this will kill my career?” he asks me at one point, referring to his outspokenness.
But I don’t think it will. Ricky Gervais’s Golden Globes speech was one sign. This is another. The tide is turning: people are sick to death of woke; those who are still obsessed with identity politics and trigger warnings and snowflake culture are looking more and more ridiculous; and lots of people who were playing the woke game because it was fashionable and gave them a sense of belonging are now starting to see the error of their ways.
So no, Lozza, I don’t think you’re killing your career. I think you just elevated your status to national — and maybe, soon, international — hero.