Actor Tom Wilkinson, known for his roles in The Full Monty, Batman Begins, Michael Clayton and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, has died at the age of 75.
Twice nominated for an Oscar for his performances in In The Bedroom and Michael Clayton, British actor Tom Wilkinson has passed away at the age of 75.
“It is with great sadness that the family of Tom Wilkinson announces that he passed away suddenly at his home on December 30. His wife and family were with him. The family requests privacy at this time.”confided the actor’s agent.
After studying at the University of Kent in Canterbury, where he obtained a degree in English and American literature, Tom Wilkinson began acting. He obtained his first film role in Smuga cienia by Andrzej Wajda, but then appeared mainly in television series.
Bestimage Tom Wilkinson
The 90s established him, thanks to roles in American productions: Sense and Sensibility by Ang Lee (1995), The Shadow and the Prey by Stephen Hopkins (1996) or even Smilla by Bille August (1997). The success of Full Monty / The Big Game (1997) reinforced its popularity. He was rewarded for his role with a BAFTA, the English equivalent of the Oscars.
In 1998, Tom Wilkinson, an actor with the ideal grandfather physique, distinguished himself in Shakespeare in Love, which confirmed his propensity to play in big American productions: he thus reunited with Ang Lee for Ride with the Devil and appeared in The Patriot and In The Bedroom, the latter film bringing him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He also inaugurates the Rush Hour saga, alongside Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.
In 2002, Tom Wilkinson starred in two period films: Girl with a Pearl Earring, which traces the life of the Dutch painter Vermeer, and The Importance of Being Earnest, based on the work of Oscar Wilde. In this film, he films with Rupert Everett, an actor he meets on Stage beauty. In the meantime, he participated in the blockbuster Batman Begins and in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Michel Gondry. In 2005, Tom Wilkinson played Father Moore, responsible for carrying out The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
Headlining in Separate Lies, he plays in this drama about adultery a husband cheated on by his wife, played by Emily Watson; he once again finds Rupert Everett there. This English film allows him to reconnect with his British roots. An ideal link between the United States and Europe, it passes with ease from one continent to another.
American uncle who plunges Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor into tragedy in Cassandra’s Dream, he returns to Hollywood to support George Clooney in Michael Clayton. In 2008, Tom Wilkinson played the role of Lenny Cole, a corrupt businessman, in Guy Ritchie’s film, Rock’NRolla.
The following year, the British actor continued filming. Involved in the attempted assassination of Hitler in Valkyrie, he is then caught up in a espionage case alongside Julia Roberts and Clive Owen in Tony Gilroy’s film, Duplicity.
In 2009, he lent his voice to Fox the fox in the animated film The Gruffalo before starring with Roman Polanski in The Ghost Writer. In this thriller adapted from a novel by Robert Harris (II), Tom Wilkinson plays Paul Emmett and stars Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan.
Marked by the arrest of the director, the post-production of the film was long but Roman Polanski always remained in contact with this project and its actors. The film will also be rewarded with numerous awards including the Silver Bear for best director.
Tom Wilkinson continued by lending his voice again to the more realistic character of Goebbels in the animated comedy Jackboots On Whitehall, in which he reunited with Ewan McGregor, then appeared in front of John Madden’s camera with The Rachel Singer Affair in 2010. This Drama thriller, written by Matthew Vaughn, plunges the actor into the hunt for the Mossad alongside Helen Mirren and Sam Worthington.
He continued his successful and long career as an actor by agreeing to play in Robert Redford’s eighth film, The Conspiracy, which tells the story of the assassination of President Lincoln, before beginning filming on The Green Hornet: produced in the United States but directed by Frenchman Michel Gondry, this 3D film mixes action and comedy and illustrates the adventures of the Green Hornet (Seth Rogen).
The actor is resting one foot on television by playing in the Kennedy mini-series before joining the cast of the fourth part of the Mission: Impossible saga, Ghost Protocol, the central role of which is still played by Tom Cruise.
In a less explosive register, in 2012 he played a British retiree venturing to India in the comedy-drama Indian Palace, alongside Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. Two years later, he slipped into the costume of President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson in Selma, a biopic centered on Martin Luther King.
The artist then distinguished himself in Snowden by Oliver Stone in 2016, continuing to produce independent productions (Little Boy) and blockbusters (Bright) for Netflix. Recently, Tom Wilkinson reprized his cult role of Gerald in the series The Full Monty alongside Robert Carlyle.