Alex Cox

Alex Cox is an English film director, screenwriter, actor, non‑fiction author, broadcaster and educator whose career has spanned more than four decades. Born Alexander B. H. Cox on 15 December 1954 in Bebington, Merseyside, England, he first studied law at Oxford before switching to film studies at the University of Bristol, graduating in 1977. A Fulbright Scholarship took him to the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned an MFA from the School of Theater, Film and Television and produced his first surreal short, Edge City. In the early 1980s Cox burst onto the international stage with the cult classic Repo Man (1984), a low‑budget but wildly influential satire of American consumer culture that earned over $4 million worldwide despite a modest budget and limited release. He followed this breakthrough with Sid and Nancy (1986), a gritty biographical drama about the Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, cementing his reputation for blending punk‑rock sensibility with subversive storytelling.

After the commercial disappointment of the politically charged Walker (1987), Cox was effectively blacklisted by Hollywood and turned his creative energies toward independent and micro‑budget filmmaking. He produced Mexican‑set features such as El Patrullero (1991) and Death and the Compass (1996), explored experimental structures in Three Businessmen (1998), and returned to his punk roots with Searchers 2.0 (2007) and the green‑screen parody Repo Chick (2009).

Beyond directing, Cox has taught screenwriting and film production at the University of Colorado, Boulder, authored several books on cinema and political history, and hosted the influential BBC series Moviedrome (1988–1994), introducing over a hundred cult films to new audiences. A self‑described atheist and left‑wing activist, his work frequently critiques capitalism and U.S. foreign policy.

In recent years Cox has embraced crowdfunding, launching projects such as Bill, the Galactic Hero (2013) and Tombstone Rashomon (2017). He remains active as a podcaster, author and filmmaker, with a announced plan to adapt Gogol’s Dead Souls as his final film. His partner is writer Todelina Babish Davies, and he continues to reside in the United States, maintaining a loyal cult following worldwide.