The disappearance of The Full Monty star and British film icon Tom Wilkinson

The disappearance of The Full Monty star and British film icon Tom Wilkinson

British actor Tom Wilkinson, who was twice nominated for an Oscar for his roles in The Bedroom and Michael Clayton, has died aged 75.

“It is with great sadness that the family of Tom Wilkinson announce that he passed away suddenly at his home on December 30th. His wife and family were with him. The family requests privacy at this time.”– the actor’s agent confided.

After studying at the University of Kent in Canterbury, where he earned a degree in English and American literature, Tom Wilkinson began acting. He got his first role in Smuga cienia by Andrzej Wajda, but then mostly appeared in TV series.

Tom Wilkinson

The 90s established him thanks to his roles in American productions: Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility (1995), Stephen Hopkins’ Shadow and Predator (1996) or even Bill August’s Smile (1997). The success of Full Monty / The Big Game (1997) boosted his popularity. For the role, he was awarded a BAFTA, the English equivalent of an Oscar.

In 1998, Tom Wilkinson, an actor with the perfect grandfather’s physique, appeared in Shakespeare in Love, which confirmed his penchant for acting in great American productions: thus he reunited with Ang Lee in Ride with the Devil and appeared in The Patriot and In. The Bedroom, the latter film earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He also opened Rush Hour Saga opposite Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.

In 2002, Tom Wilkinson starred in two period films: The Girl with the Pearl Earring, based on the life of Dutch painter Vermeer, and The Importance of Being Earnest, based on the work of Oscar Wilde. In this film, he starred with Rupert Everett, an actor whom a beauty meets on stage. Meanwhile, he starred in the blockbuster Batman Begins and Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. In 2005, Tom Wilkinson played Father Moore, responsible for carrying out the exorcism of Emily Rose.

Headlining in Separate Lies, he plays a husband cheated on by his wife, played by Emily Watson, in this adulterous drama; He finds Rupert Everett there once more. This English film allows him to return to his British roots. An ideal link between the United States and Europe, it easily moves from one continent to the other.

The American uncle who plunged Colin Farrell and Ivan McGregor into tragedy in Cassandra’s dream returns to Hollywood to support George Clooney. Michael Clayton. In 2008, Tom Wilkinson played the role of corrupt businessman Lenny Cole in Guy Ritchie’s Rock’NRolla.

The following year, the British actor continued filming. Involved in an assassination attempt on Hitler in Valkyrie, he has since been cast in espionage alongside Julia Roberts and Clive Owen in Tony Gilroy’s Duplicity.

In 2009, he provided the voice of Fox in the animated film The Gruffalo, before co-starring with Roman Polanski in The Ghost Writer. This thriller, adapted from Robert Harris’ novel (II), stars Tom Wilkinson as Paul Emmet and stars Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan.

The director’s arrest marked the film’s long post-production, but Roman Polanski has always remained in touch with the project and its actors. The film will also be honored with many awards, including the Silver Bear for Best Director.

Tom Wilkinson went on to voice the more realistic character of Goebbels in the animated comedy Jackboots On Whitehall, where he reunited with Ewan McGregor, then appeared in front of John Madden’s camera with The Rachel Singer Case in 2010. This is a dramatic thriller. Written by Matthew Vaughn, the actor is on the hunt for the Mossad alongside Helen Mirren and Sam Worthington.

He continued his successful and long-running career as an actor in Robert Redford’s eighth film, The Conspiracy, about the assassination of President Lincoln, before beginning filming on The Green Hornet: Made in the USA, but Directed. French Michel Gondry, this 3D film combines action and comedy and follows the adventures of the Green Hornet (Seth Rogen).

The actor is leaning on TV with one leg in the Kennedy mini-series, before joining the cast of the fourth installment of the Mission: Impossible saga, Ghost Protocol, which still stars Tom Cruise.

In a less explosive register, in 2012 he played a British pensioner traveling to India in the comedy-drama Indian Palace alongside Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. Two years later, she wore it for United States President Lyndon B. Johnson’s costume in Selma, a biopic centered on Martin Luther King.

The artist then rose to prominence in 2016’s Oliver Stone’s Snowden, continuing to produce independent productions (Little Boy) and blockbusters (Clear) for Netflix. More recently, Tom Wilkinson reprized his iconic role as Gerald in The Full Monty alongside Robert Carlyle.

Source: Allocine

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