His role as the original Hannibal Lecter secured his place in Hollywood 30 years ago.

He is now one of our most respected actors. In his latest movie, Churchill, due for release in June, he plays the wartime Prime Minister.

Now, on the eve of the 89th Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, Brian Cox has entered the ongoing Oscars ‘diversity’ debate by calling for white, not just black and Hispanic, actors to be given more varied roles in Hollywood.

Cox, who will not attend the Academy Awards tonight, said there should be no colour bar on roles.

Actor Brian Cox, pictured in X-Men 2, has called for white actors to be given more diverse roles in Hollywood

The actor, who will play Winston Churchill in an upcoming biopic, pictured, said it was 'racist in reverse' to say white actors could not play black roles

It comes after a row over Cox's co-star Joseph Fiennes portraying Michael Jackson, pictured, in television movie Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon

He added: ‘It’s kind of racist in reverse to say if you are a white man, you can’t possibly play a black man.

'Anybody can play anything. That’s the great thing about theatre and cinema – we transcend all that petite bourgeoisie and politics.’

The controversy surrounding the lack of non-white nominations last year and in 2015 led to threats of boycotting by celebrities and even earned its own Twitter hashtag, #OscarsSoWhite.

After a change in judging, however, this year’s Oscar nominations are more diverse, with seven non-white actors and four directors up for an award.

But Cox insisted diversity cannot be ‘one way’, adding: ‘It has to go across the board.’

Tonight’s non-white nominees are actors Denzel Washington, Ruth Negga, Mahershala Ali, Dev Patel, Viola Davis, Naomie Harris and Octavia Spencer; along with directors Barry Jenkins, Raoul Peck, Herbert Peck and Ava DuVernay.

Best picture nominations include Fences, a film set in the 1950s about a black American family starring Washington and Davis; Hidden Figures, a biographical drama about African-American mathematicians at NASA; and Moonlight, a coming-of- age story set in Miami.

Welcoming the nominations, Cox, who has starred in X-Men 2, Troy and Braveheart, said movie producers and the Academy could go further.

Cox, pictured, said Fiennes played the role with 'bravery and sensitivity'

‘There is this great brouhaha about diversity,’ he added.

‘We’ve all been going on about diversity and we had that at the Oscars last time around.

‘At the Golden Globes we saw black-American projects win all kinds of awards, as they should do because they are on the rise.

‘We have seen it with Viola Davis and the fantastic film Hidden Figures, based on the three African-American women who worked on the space programme at NASA.

‘Loving is another great film about marriage between a black woman and a white man.’

Hollywood moguls, Cox said, should now take matters further and give white actors the chance to depict non-white characters.

Not everyone will warm to the idea, something of which Cox is well aware, having co-starred alongside Joseph Fiennes in the TV movie Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon.

In the film, Fiennes, played Michael Jackson, with Cox as Marlon Brando and Stockard Channing as Elizabeth Taylor.

The movie, directed by Scot Neil Forsyth, is based on an urban myth about the celebrity trio taking a road trip after the 9/11 terror attacks.

But after Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris complained the film made her feel ‘incredibly offended’ and ‘wanting to vomit’, Sky withdrew it earlier this month.

Cox said if it had been aired, people would have seen that Fiennes portrayed the late pop singer with ‘bravery and sensitivity’.

He added: ‘It should be possible to have a white actor playing Michael Jackson. I’d say, just see the job. Is he doing the job? Criticise him on that.

The actor rose to fame with his portrayal of Hannibal Lecktor in Manhunter in 1986, five years before Sir Anthony Hopkins iconic performance in the Silence of the Lambs

Cox has also appeared in blockbusters including Troy, pictured, and Braveheart

'Don’t criticise him on the fact that he is white, because it’s kind of racist in reverse to say if you are a white man, you can’t possibly play a black man.’

Pointing to Hamilton, a hip hop musical that has become one of the most successful Broadway shows ever, he said it’s a perfect example of a colour bar being removed.

Hamilton uses non-white actors to tell the story of the all-white founding fathers of America.

Cox said: ‘Hamilton is probably the best musical I have seen in 50 years. It’s sensational.

'The American founding fathers were all white and some were Scots like Alexander Hamilton. They are played by Hispanics and African-Americans. Hamilton is played by a Nigerian.

‘That’s diversity and if you say we need diversity, you can’t have it going one way. You also have to have it going the other way.’