UK actor Tom Wilkinson, who starred in films including The Full Monty, Shakespeare In Love and Batman Begins, has died suddenly at the age of 75.
His death was confirmed in a statement shared by his agent on behalf of his family.
“It is with great sadness that the family of Tom Wilkinson announce that he died suddenly at home on December 30. His wife and family were with him. The family asks for privacy at this time,” read the statement.
Wilkinson received two Oscar nominations, for best actor for his role as grieving parent Matt Fowler in Todd Field’s In The Bedroom in 2001; and for best supporting actor, for playing attorney Arthur Edens opposite George Clooney in Tony Gilroy’s Michael Clayton in 2008.
Born in Yorkshire and raised there as well as in Canada and Cornwall, Wilkinson trained at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and began his near-50-year career with a role in Andrzej Wajda’s 1976 The Shadow Line. The first phase of his career consisted predominantly of television roles, including in BBC adaptation Martin ChuzzlewitI.
Wilkinson’s international breakthrough came as irascible Gerald Cooper, the former foreman of a group of now redundant Sheffield steelworkers in Peter Cattaneo’s 1997 The Full Monty. He won the Bafta for best actor in a supporting role, with the cast receiving the SAG award for outstanding performance and the film receiving four Oscar nominations including best picture.
His subsequent career saw him appear regularly in high-profile films, including 2002’s The Importance of Being Earnest, 2003’s Girl With A Pearl Earring and 2004’s Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind; Christopher Nolan’s 2005 blockbuster Batman Begins, as crime boss Carmine Falcone; Wes Anderson’s 2014 The Grand Budapest Hotel; and Ava DuVernay’s 2014 Selma, as president Lyndon B Johnson.
He was also part of the ensemble cast for 2011 comedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel; and won an Emmy for playing Benjamin Franklin in 2008 miniseries John Adams, plus an Emmy nomination for playing John F Kennedy’s father Joe in The Kennedys.
Wilkinson reprised his The Full Monty part in the 2023 miniseries of the same name – his final on-screen role.
He is survived by his wife of 25 years, actress Diana Hardcastle; and their two daughters, Alice and Molly.
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