United Kingdom, March 5 -- Brian Cox is "grateful" for the early death of his parents because it taught him to be "self-sufficient".

The 78-year-old actor had lost both his mother and his father before he turned 30 and even though it was "traumatic", he didn't really have time to grieve for them.

Speaking on the 'Turning Points' podcast, he told 'Shout' hitmaker Lulu: ""It was traumatic, but the interesting thing was, I was fine. It was hell but I was fine. And I knew it was hell, so I didn't bother, there was no point, what is the point in going oh poor me... I still miss my father to this day, and I still miss my mum, but I never dealt on it and thought oh poor me, because there was no time.

"You knew you were on your own so you had ...