I recently had the chance to speak with the immensely talented actor Brian Cox about his new medieval project Ironclad, which will be released on VOD formats June 8, and will hit theaters on July 8. I also asked him about his experience on the set of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which opens in theaters on August 5.

It seems he not only stars in this sci-fi adventure, but he also helped Rupert Wyatt land the directing gig, after working with the director on his feature debut, The Escapist.

Take a look at what Brian Cox had to say below, including his thoughts on Andy Serkis' performance, and a brief insight into his character.

"This is a film with somebody who I had worked with before, who is sort of a prodigy of mine, and probably one of the best young directors around, Rupert Wyatt. (Producer) Peter Chernin called me ages ago about Rupert Wyatt, asking me what I thought of him. I said, 'Well, he made a film The Escapist I was in, and I think he's one of the most visually interesting directors around.' He got the gig at Fox and he's still doing it. I'm supposed to see him in L.A. this week. He's working right up until the film gets reeled for the first time with an audience, a paying audience. It's a lot of CGI, it's quite a technical film. It's interesting because in the old days, they would do makeup on the actors for the chimpanzees, they would spend hours in the makeup chair. Now the CGI people can do all the makeup. It's great, but I like the old style. We have to move with the times. I think the performance of Andy Serkis is astonishing. He has become the king of motion-capture. It's astonishing. Really, the story is about the apes themselves. I'm the kind of corrupt element."

Hopefully we'll see more of Brian Cox in the next trailer for Rise of the Planet of the Apes before it debuts in theaters on August 5.