Oscar-nominated actor Tom Wilkinson, who passed away “suddenly” Saturday at the age of 75, according to an announcement by his family, had a long 50-year career in Hollywood with both television and film credits to his name.
The English actor starred in more than 130 roles on the big and small screens and was recognized several times for his work.
Here are five things to know about him and his influence.
His best-known trio of roles
Tom Wilkinson arrives at the “Denial” premiere on day 4 of the Toronto International Film Festival at the Princess of Wales Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, in Toronto. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, file)
Wilkinson is best known for several supporting film roles.
He was nominated and received the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Gerald in Peter Cattaneo’s 1997 comedy-musical, The Full Monty. Wilkinson played a former foreman in the film about a man who, desperate for money after losing his job and learning that his wife wants to sue him for missing child support payments, creates his own male strip-tease act with his friend and recruits others, including Wilkinson’s character.
Four years later, Wilkinson was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Actor category for his role as Matt Fowler, a doctor, in Todd Field’s 2001 thriller-drama In the Bedroom.
Then in 2007, he was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in Tony Gilroy’s acclaimed thriller Michael Clayton.
A long and expansive career
British actor Tom Wilkinson, a cast member in the film “Belle,” poses for a portrait on day 5 of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on Monday, Sept. 9, 2013 in Toronto. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Chances are, Wilkinson has been a movie you have seen, also starring in films like:
- Sense and Sensibility (1995)
- Shakespeare in Love (1998)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
- Batman Begins (2005)
- The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
On the small screen, Wilkinson won a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award for his role as Benjamin Franklin in HBO’s 2008 limited series, John Adams.
He was also nominated for Emmys for his roles in Normal (2003), Recount (2008) and The Kennedys (2011).
An order of chivalry from his country
Penelope Wilton and Tom Wilkinson attend Fox Searchlight’s Premiere of “Belle” at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, September 8th, 2013 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision for Fox Searchlight/AP Images)
Wilkinson was honored by his country and appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, public service outside the civil service and work with charitable and welfare organizations.
Wilkinson was given the honor in 2005, which was first established in 1917 by King George V. Sir Ridley Scott, famed director of Blade Runner and Alien, is among those set to receive the honor in 2024.
His interest in acting from childhood
Actors Tom Wilkinson, from left, Andrew Scott and Timothy Spall pose for photographers upon arrival at the Denial screening in central London, Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)
In a 2005 interview with NPR, Wilkinson said he always thought he would become a farmer, like his father and the generations in his family before him.
But when his family lost their farm, a boon of creativity was spawned from an identity crisis.
“I think in a certain sense, rootlessness, in that sense, is quite good for an actor,” he said in the interview. “It’s not necessarily going to make an actor, but it means they are much more wide-ranging in the things that they will allow themselves to be influenced by, that they’re perhaps not as set in their cultural ways as perhaps they could be if they had that thing which we crudely call a strong sense of themselves.”
Marrying an actor and starting a family
Diana Hardcastle,left, and Tom Wilkinson poses with the award for best actor in a miniseries or motion picture made for television for “Recount” as they arrive at the HBO Golden Globes after-party on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)
In 1988, Wilkinson married actress Diana Hardcastle, who is known for her roles in television.
She appeared in episodes of Midsomer Murders, Inspector Lynley and Taggart, along with roles in the series First Among Equals and Fortunes of War.
Wilkinson and Hardcastle played husband and wife a number of times, including as Joe and Rose Kennedy in the miniseries, The Kennedys, in Good People and as brother-in-law and sister-in-law in the series Belgravia.
They had two children together.
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