Brian Cox will never retire.

The 77-year-old actor is determined to keep pushing himself in his later years and is proud that his schedule is just as busy as ever.

Asked about the possibility of retirement, he told The Times' Saturday Review supplement: “My mother used to say, 'You’re a long time dead.' "

Pressed on if he will at least slow down, he added: “No, I’m going to get faster ... I’m enjoying myself more now. The great thing about being old, and that’s why I recommend it to everybody, is that you don’t have the anxiety you have when you’re younger. What’s there to be anxious about?”

However, the 'Succession' star admitted his heavy workload has taken a toll and he gets a lot more "tired" than he used to.

He said: “I get tired, I get very tired ... Yesterday I thought, ‘I’ll have a lie down,’ and I woke up two hours later. That’s never happened to me before. I thought: ‘Oh, you are tired, Brian. You’re quite exhausted.’ ”

Brian can next be seen on screen hosting '007: Road to a Million' and he admitted he is happy to consider almost any job if the pay is right.

He said: “I don’t have any sense of grandeur — ‘I shouldn’t do this, I shouldn’t do that.’ I’ll do anything. Within reason.”

Asked why the game show in particular, he added: “I’ve no idea. I think they paid quite well.”

The Scottish star is worried that people take themselves too seriously these days.

He said: "I think people just take themselves far too f****** seriously. I really do think you have to have a sense of humour about your life.

"And as you get older, you get to my age, I look at my life and I just look at the ludicrousness of life.

"Because life is ludicrous as far as I’m concerned. It doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.”