British actor (1931–2020)
Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor. After graduating fromRADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and beginning his career on the British stage as a member of theRoyal Shakespeare Company , he became a successful and prolific performer on television and in film. He received numerous accolades including twoBAFTA Awards and aTony Award , along with a nomination for anAcademy Award . He was knighted by QueenElizabeth II in1998 for services to drama.[ 1] [ 2]
Holm won the1967 Tony Award forBest Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in theHarold Pinter playThe Homecoming . He won theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role in the 1998West End production ofKing Lear . For his television roles he received twoPrimetime Emmy Award nominations forKing Lear , and theHBO filmThe Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2003).
Holm gained acclaim for his role inThe Bofors Gun (1968), winning theBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role . He was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor , and won a secondBAFTA Award for his role as athletics trainerSam Mussabini inChariots of Fire (1981). Other notable films he appeared in includeAlien (1979),Brazil (1985),Dreamchild (1985),Henry V (1989),Naked Lunch (1991),The Madness of King George (1994),The Fifth Element (1997),The Sweet Hereafter (1997), andThe Aviator (2004). He playedNapoleon in three unrelated works between 1974 and 2001. He gained wider appreciation for his role as the elderlyBilbo Baggins inPeter Jackson 'sThe Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) andThe Hobbit (2012-2014) film trilogies, with the last film in the latter, 2014'sThe Battle of the Five Armies , being his final film role.
Early life and education [ edit ] Ian Holm Cuthbert was born on 12 September 1931 inGoodmayes ,Essex , to Scottish parents, James Cuthbert and his wife Jean (née Holm). His father was apsychiatrist who worked as the superintendent of theWest Ham Corporation Mental Hospital and was one of the pioneers ofelectric shock therapy ; his mother was a nurse.[ 3] [ 4] [ 5] [ 6] [ 7] He had an older brother, who died when Ian was 12 years old.[ 8] Holm was educated at the independentChigwell School in Essex.[ 3] [ 8] His parents retired toMortehoe in Devon and then toWorthing , where he joined an amateur dramatic society.[ 9]
A chance encounter withHenry Baynton , a well-known provincial Shakespearean actor, helped Holm train for admission to theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art , where he secured a place from 1950.[ 3] [ 10] His studies were interrupted a year later when he was called up forNational Service in theBritish Army ,[ 10] during which he was posted toKlagenfurt , Austria, and attained the rank ofLance Corporal . They were interrupted a second time when he volunteered to go on an acting tour of the United States in 1952.[ 9] Holm graduated from theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1953.[ 3]
He made his stage debut in 1954, atStratford-upon-Avon , playing aspear carrier in a staging ofOthello .[ 11] Two years later, he made his London stage debut inLove Affair .[ 11]
Holm was an established actor in theRoyal Shakespeare Company before he gained notice in television and film. He began in 1954 with minor roles, progressing toPuck inA Midsummer Night's Dream and the fool inKing Lear .[ 10] In 1965, he playedRichard III in theBBC serialisation ofThe Wars of The Roses , based on the RSC production of the plays. He gained acclaim for his role in the 1968 filmThe Bofors Gun , winning theBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role .[ 12] In 1969, he appeared inMoonlight on the Highway .[ 13] He took on minor roles in films such asOh! What a Lovely War (1969),[ 14] Nicholas and Alexandra (1971),[ 15] Mary, Queen of Scots (1972)[ 16] andYoung Winston (1972).[ 17]
In 1967 Holm won aTony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play as Lenny inThe Homecoming byHarold Pinter . Holm appeared in the 1977 television mini-seriesJesus of Nazareth as theSadducee Zerah , and as the villain inMarch or Die . The following year he playedJ. M. Barrie in the award-winning BBC mini-seriesThe Lost Boys ,[ 18] In 1981, he playedFrodo Baggins in theBBC radio adaptation ofJ. R. R. Tolkien 'sThe Lord of the Rings .[ 19]
Holm's first film role to gain much notice was that ofAsh , the "calm, technocratic" science officer – later revealed to be anandroid – inRidley Scott 's science-fiction filmAlien (1979).[ 20] His portrayal of the running coachSam Mussabini inChariots of Fire (1981) earned him a special award at theCannes Film Festival , aBAFTA award forBest Actor in a Supporting Role , and anAcademy Award nomination forBest Supporting Actor .[ 20] [ 21] [ 22] In the 1980s, Holm played inTime Bandits (1981),Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) andBrazil (1985). He playedLewis Carroll , the author ofAlice in Wonderland , inDreamchild (1985).[ 23] [ 24]
In 1989, Holm was nominated for a BAFTA award for the television seriesGame, Set and Match .[ 25] Based on the novels byLen Deighton , this tells the story of an intelligence officer (Holm) who finds a security leak at the heart of his network.[ 26] He continued to performShakespeare in films. He appeared withKenneth Branagh inHenry V (1989)[ 27] and asPolonius toMel Gibson 'sHamlet (1990).[ 28] Holm was reunited with Branagh inMary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), playing the father of Branagh'sVictor Frankenstein .[ 29]
Holm asBilbo Baggins inThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring . The role brought him wider fame, somewhat overshadowing the rest of his acting career.[ 1] Holm raised his profile in 1997 with two prominent roles, as the priest Vito Cornelius inLuc Besson 's sci-fiThe Fifth Element and the lawyer Mitchell Stephens inThe Sweet Hereafter . In 2001 he starred inFrom Hell as the physicianSir William Withey Gull .[ 1] The same year, he followed up his radio role as Frodo by appearing as Frodo's older cousinBilbo Baggins in the blockbuster filmThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring . This brought him wider fame, somewhat overshadowing the rest of his acting career.[ 1] He returned forThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), for which he shared aSAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. He later reprised his role as the elderly Bilbo Baggins in the filmsThe Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey andThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies .[ 10] Martin Freeman portrayed the young Bilbo in those films.[ 30]
Holm was nominated for anEmmy Award twice, for aPBS broadcast of a National Theatre production ofKing Lear , in 1999; and for a supporting role in theHBO filmThe Last of the Blonde Bombshells oppositeJudi Dench , in 2001.[ 31] He voiced Chef Skinner in thePixar animated filmRatatouille (2007).[ 32] He appeared in twoDavid Cronenberg films:Naked Lunch (1991) andeXistenZ (1999).[ 20] His acting was admired byHarold Pinter : the playwright once said: "He puts on my shoe, and it fits!"[ 33] Holm played Lenny in both the London and New York City premieres of Pinter'sThe Homecoming ; the BBC wrote that he "electrified audiences" in the play.[ 22] He playedNapoleon Bonaparte three times: in the television mini-seriesNapoleon and Love (1974),Terry Gilliam 'sTime Bandits (1981), andThe Emperor's New Clothes (2001).[ 18] Holm received royal recognition for his contributions: he was made CBE in 1989 and knighted in 1998.[ 3]
Holm was married four times:[ 34] to Lynn Mary Shaw in 1955 (divorced 1965); to Sophie Baker in 1982 (divorced 1986); to the actressPenelope Wilton , inWiltshire , in 1991 (divorced 2001); and to the artist Sophie de Stempel in 2003. He had five children.[ 3] [ 35]
Holm and Wilton appeared together in the BBC miniseriesThe Borrowers (1993). His last wife, Sophie de Stempel, was a protégée and alife model ofLucian Freud ,[ 36] and an artist.[ 37]
He was made aCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in1989 byQueen Elizabeth II .[ 1] [ 2]
Holm was treated forprostate cancer in 2001.[ 34] He was diagnosed withParkinson's disease in 2007.[ 38] [ 39] [ 40]
Holm's grave inHighgate Cemetery Holm died in hospital in London on 19 June 2020 at the age of 88.[ 41] According to Alex Irwin, Holm's agent, his death was related to Parkinson's disease.[ 21] His remains are interred on the western side ofHighgate Cemetery .[ 42]
Posthumous image use [ edit ] With the consent of his heirs, the role ofandroid Rook was generated from Holm's archive data andcomputer-generated imagery for the 2024 filmAlien: Romulus , the identical model toAsh , the character of the firstAlien film, he played in 1979.[ 43] [ 44]
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