‘Chariots of Fire,’ ‘Lord of the Rings’ actor Holm dies

Ian Holm, a versatile British actor whose long career included roles in “Chariots of Fire” and “The Lord of the Rings” has died. He was 88.

Holm died peacefully Friday morning in a hospital, surrounded by his family and carer, his agent Alex Irwin said in a statement. His illness was Parkinson’s-related.

“His sparkling wit always accompanied a mischievous twinkle in his eye,” Irwin said. “Charming, kind and ferociously talented, we will miss him hugely.’’

Holm appeared in scores of movies big and small, from costume dramas to fantasy epics. A generation of moviegoers knows him as Bilbo Baggins in “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies.

He won a British Academy Film Award and gained a supporting-actor Oscar nomination for portraying pioneering athletics coach Sam Mussabini in the hit 1982 film “Chariots of Fire.”

His other movie roles included Father Cornelius in “The Fifth Element,” android Ash in “Alien,’’ a smooth-talking lawyer in “The Sweet Hereafter,’’ Napoleon

Bonaparte in “Time Bandits,’’ writer Lewis Carroll in “Dreamchild” and a royal physician in “The Madness of King George.’’

He was also a charismatic theater actor who won a Tony Award for best featured actor as Lenny in Harold Pinter’s play “The Homecoming” in 1967.

He was a longtime member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, though a bout of debilitating stage fright that struck during a production of “The Iceman Cometh” in 1976 kept him off the stage for many years.

Holm was married four times and had five children.