Sir Ian Holm hailed as ‘a genius of stage and screen’ on his death
● Theatre giant and Lord of The Rings actor dies at the age of 88
The Lord Of The Rings actor Sir Ian Holm has been remembered as “charming, kind and ferociously talented”, following his death at the age of 88. The actor, who was acclaimed for his roles in Chariots Of Fire, Alien and Brazil, was also a prolific and accomplished star of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and was described as being playwright Harold Pinter’s favourite actor.
He died peacefully in hospital after a Parkinson’s-related illness, with his family and carer at his bedside, his agent said yesterday.
Sir Ian, who played Bilbo Baggins in The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit franchise, had a long and varied film career that also included The Fifth Element, The Sweet Hereafter, Time Bandits, The Emperor’s New Clothes and The Madness Of King George, as well as a voice role in the animated film Ratatouille.
In a statement, his agent, Alex Irwin, said: “His portrayal of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings trilogies ensured the magic of his craft could be shared by all generations.
“He was a genius of stage and screen, winning multiple awards, and loved by directors, audiences and his colleagues alike. His sparkling wit always accompanied a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Charming, kind and ferociously talented, we will miss him hugely.”
Sir Ian won a Tony Award in 1967 for best featured actor as Lenny in Pinter’s play The Homecoming, and his role as Sam Mussabini in Chariots Of Fire earned him a special award at the Cannes Film Festival, a Bafta award and an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.
His first credited screen performance was in 1957 in an ITV Play Of The Week and he won the first Bafta he was nominated for – in The Bofors Gun.
He found a new audience in the 1990s in the role of Pod in the TV adaptation of The Borrowers, in which he starred opposite Dame Penelope Wilton and Rebecca Callard.
He was knighted in 1998 for services to drama, the same year he won a Laurence Olivier Award for his performance as King Lear.
RSC artistic director Gregory Doran said: “Ian was quite simply one of the RSC greats.
“Long before he found fame in Chariots Of Fire and as Bilbo Baggins in The Lord Of The
Rings, Ian joined the Stratford Company in 1958.
“Ian was entirely original. Entirely a one-off. He married the technique of a classical Shakespeare actor and the intense naturalism and economy of style of a modern tradition. He had a simmering cool, a compressed volcanic sense of ferocity, of danger, a pressure cooker actor, a rare and magnificent talent. There’s a great spirit gone.”