Acting great who switched from Shakespeare to Alien
Stage fright launched movie career of Sir Ian Holm, dead at 88
TO some he was the android double agent Ash in Alien, while to others he was simply Bilbo Baggins.
It is little wonder that Sir Ian Holm, who has died at the age of 88, meant something to every generation.
The actor passed away yesterday morning in hospital surrounded by his family with his agent confirming his illness was related to Parkinson’s.
Sir Ian enjoyed a stellar career spanning more than 100 roles in films, stage and TV. Older viewers might recall his star turn as Harold Abrahams’ running coach, Sam Mussabini, in the Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire.
Younger fans were captivated by his portrayal of tiny Bilbo in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
Paying tribute his agent said yesterday: “His sparkling wit always accompanied a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
Charming, kind and ferociously talented, we will miss him hugely.”
Married four times and with five children, he enjoyed a colourful off-screen life too, with extra-marital affairs gaining him the nickname “Lord of the Flings”.
Sir Ian was born in a psychiatric hospital in Goodmayes, Essex, where his father was superintendent.
He suffered from anxiety as a child but found solace in acting. A place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1949 followed, although it was cut short by his stint of National Service. He returned
to RADA and graduated in 1953 before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company where in 1954 he was a spear carrier in Othello, his first recorded role.
From there he never looked back as he crafted his trade treading the boards as The Fool in King Lear and Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream before moving on to the title role in Henry V.
Following a severe case of stage fright for The Iceman Cometh in 1976, he only returned to the stage three times.
He recalled the incident the following year after being knighted for services to entertainment. He said: “I just walked off the stage and into the dressing room and said, ‘I’m not going back. I cannot go back.’ And they had to put the understudy on. My doctor said, ‘The Iceman goeth.’”
His Hollywood break came in 1979 as android Ash in Alien, although Holm did not really enjoy the experience.
He said: “It wasn’t a particularly pleasant film to do. It was 16 weeks of bloody hard work down at Shepperton Studios, full of uncomfortable situations.”
Two years later, Chariots of Fire won him a Bafta for best supporting actor as well as an Oscar nomination. His biggest television role was playing intelligence officer Bernard Samson in Len Deighton’s spy trilogy Game, Set and Match.
But it wasn’t until he played Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s epic Lord of the Rings trilogy from 2001-03 that his career hit even greater heights. Ian garnered a whole new generation of fans.
“I get a lot of fan mail addressed to Bilbo and Sir Bilbo – it’s hardly ever addressed to Ian Holm,” he said.
His personal life was equally busy. Holm married Lynn Shaw in 1955 before splitting up 10 years later.
A four-year marriage to Sophie Baker ended in divorce in 1986 and, five years later, he married the actress Penelope Wilton, the couple divorced in 2001 and he wed artist Sophie de Stempel in 2003, who documented his last few days in a series of pastel portraits.