Ian Holm
Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert CBE (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor. Beginning his career on the British stage as a standout member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he later transitioned into a successful and prolific screen career portraying a variety of both supporting and leading characters, earning critical acclaim and many accolades in the process.[1][2]
Ian Holm CBE | |
---|---|
Holm in Edinburgh, August 2004 | |
Born | Ian Holm Cuthbert 12 September 1931 |
Died | 19 June 2020 88) London, England | (aged
Nationality | British |
Alma mater | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1957–2014 |
Spouse(s) |
|
Children | 5 |
Awards | BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role 1969 The Bofors Gun 1981 Chariots of Fire Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play 1998 King Lear |
Holm won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear. He was nominated for seven BAFTA Awards, winning Best Actor in a Supporting Role twice for The Bofors Gun (his film debut) and Chariots of Fire. His latter performance as athletics trainer Sam Mussabini was also nominated for an Academy Award.
His other well-known film roles include Ash in Alien, Mr Kurtzmann in Brazil, Francis Willis in The Madness of King George, Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element, Mitchell Stevens in The Sweet Hereafter, the voice of Chef Skinner in Ratatouille, and Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series.
Early life and education
Ian Holm Cuthbert was born on 12 September 1931 in Goodmayes, Essex, to Scottish parents, James Harvey Cuthbert and his wife Jean Wilson (née Holm).[3] His father was a psychiatrist who worked as the superintendent of the West Ham Corporation Mental Hospital and was one of the pioneers of electric shock therapy; his mother was a nurse.[4][5][6][7] He had an older brother, who died when Ian was 12 years old.[8] Holm was educated at the independent Chigwell School in Essex.[8][9] His parents retired to Mortehoe in Devon and then to Worthing, where he joined an amateur dramatic society.[10]
A chance encounter with Henry Baynton, a well-known provincial Shakespearean actor, helped Holm train for admission to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he secured a place from 1950.[11][9] His studies there were interrupted a year later when he was called up for National Service in the British Army,[11] during which he was posted to Klagenfurt, Austria, and attained the rank of Lance Corporal. They were then interrupted a second time when he volunteered to go on an acting tour of the United States in 1952.[10] Holm graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1953.[9] He made his stage debut in 1954, at Stratford-upon-Avon, playing a spear-carrier in a staging of Othello.[12] Two years later, he made his London stage debut in Love Affair.[12]
Career
Holm was an established star of the Royal Shakespeare Company before making an effect on television and film. In 1965, he played Richard III in the BBC serialisation of The Wars of The Roses, based on the RSC production of the plays. In 1969, he appeared in Moonlight on the Highway.[13] He appeared in minor roles in films such as Oh! What a Lovely War (1969),[14] Nicholas and Alexandra (1971),[15] Mary, Queen of Scots (1972)[16] and Young Winston (1972).[17]
In 1967 Holm won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play as Lenny in The Homecoming by Harold Pinter. In 1977, Holm appeared in the television mini-series Jesus of Nazareth as the Sadducee Zerah, and a villainous Moroccan in March or Die. The following year he played J. M. Barrie in the award-winning BBC mini-series The Lost Boys,[18] In 1981, he played Frodo Baggins in the BBC radio adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.[19]
Holm's first film role to have a major effect was that of Ash, the "calm, technocratic" science officer in Ridley Scott's science-fiction film Alien (1979).[20] His portrayal of Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire (1981) earned him a special award at the Cannes Film Festival, a BAFTA award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.[20][21][22] In the 1980s, he had memorable roles in Time Bandits (1981), Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) and Terry Gilliam's Brazil (1985). He played Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland, in Dreamchild (1985).[23][24]
In 1989, Holm was nominated for a BAFTA award for the television series Game, Set and Match. Based on the novels by Len Deighton, this tells the story of an intelligence officer (Holm) who discovers that his own wife is an enemy spy. He continued to perform Shakespeare, and appeared with Kenneth Branagh in Henry V (1989) and as Polonius to Mel Gibson's Hamlet (1990). Holm was reunited with Kenneth Branagh in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), playing the father of Branagh's Victor Frankenstein.[25]
Holm raised his profile in 1997 with two prominent roles, as the stressed but gentle priest Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element and lawyer Mitchell Stephens in The Sweet Hereafter. In 2001 he starred in From Hell as the physician Sir William Withey Gull. The same year, he appeared as Bilbo Baggins in the blockbuster film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, having previously played Bilbo's nephew Frodo Baggins in the 1981 BBC Radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. He returned for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), for which he shared a SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. He later reprised his role as the elderly Bilbo Baggins in the movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.[11] Martin Freeman portrayed the young Bilbo Baggins in those films.[26]
Holm was nominated for an Emmy Award twice, for a PBS broadcast of a National Theatre production of King Lear, in 1999; and for a supporting role in the HBO film The Last of the Blonde Bombshells opposite Judi Dench, in 2001.[27] He appeared in two David Cronenberg films: Naked Lunch (1991) and eXistenZ (1999).[20] He was Harold Pinter's favourite actor, the playwright once stating: "He puts on my shoe, and it fits!"[28] Holm played Lenny in both the London and New York City premieres of Pinter's The Homecoming.[22] He played Napoleon Bonaparte three times: in the television mini-series Napoleon and Love (1974), Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits (1981), and The Emperor's New Clothes.[18]
Personal life
Holm was married four times:[29] to Lynn Mary Shaw in 1955 (divorced 1965); to Sophie Baker in 1982 (divorced 1986); to actress Penelope Wilton, in Wiltshire,[30] in 1991 (divorced 2002); and to the artist Sophie de Stempel in 2003. He had two daughters from his first marriage, a son from his second marriage, and a son and daughter from his 15-year relationship with the photographer Bee Gilbert.[31]
Holm and Wilton appeared together in the BBC miniseries The Borrowers (1993). His last wife, Sophie de Stempel, is a protégée and was a life model of Lucian Freud,[32] as well as an artist in her own right.
Holm was treated for prostate cancer in 2001[29] and was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.[33][34][35] He died in hospital in London on 19 June 2020 at the age of 88.[36]
Filmography
Film
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1972–74 | BBC Play of the Month | Khrushchov/Oedipus | 2 episodes | [43][44] |
1974 | Napoleon and Love | Napoleon I | 9 episodes | [45] |
1974–75 | The Lives of Benjamin Franklin | Wedderburn | 3 episodes | [46] |
1975 | Private Affairs | David Garrick | Episode: Mr Garrick and Mrs Woffington | [47] |
1977 | The Man in the Iron Mask | Duval | Television film | [37] |
Jesus of Nazareth | Zerah | Parts 1 & 2 | [9] | |
Jubilee | Bill Ramsey | Episode: Ramsey | [37] | |
1978 | Do You Remember? | Walter Street | Episode: Night School | [48] |
The Lost Boys | J. M. Barrie | 3 episodes | [37] | |
Holocaust | Heinrich Himmler | 2 episodes | [37] | |
Les Misérables | Thénardier | Television film | [37] | |
The Thief of Baghdad | The Gatekeeper | Television film | [49] | |
1979 | All Quiet on the Western Front | Himmelstoss | Television film | [37] |
S.O.S. Titanic | Bruce Ismay | Television film | [50] | |
1980 | We, the Accused | Paul Pressett | Miniseries; 5 episodes | [37] |
The Misanthrope | Alceste | Television film | [37] | |
1981–2008 | Horizon | Narrator | Television documentary | [51][52] |
1982 | The Bell | Michael Meade | TV | [37] |
Play for Today | Alexie | Television play (episode: Soft Targets) | [37] | |
1986 | Murder by the Book | Hercule Poirot | Television film | [37] |
1988 | Game, Set and Match | Bernard Samson | 13 episodes | [37] |
1989 | The Endless Game | Control | 2 episodes | [37] |
1991 | Uncle Vanya | Astrov | BBC TV | [37] |
1992 | The Borrowers | Pod Clock | 6 episodes | [37] |
1993 | The Return of the Borrowers | Pod Clock | 6 episodes | [37] |
1999 | Animal Farm | Squealer (voice) | Television film | |
2003 | Monsters We Met | Narrator | Television documentary | [53] |
2004 | The Last Dragon | Narrator | Television film | [37] |
2005 | The Adventures of Errol Flynn | Narrator | Television documentary | [37] |
2009 | 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth | Narrator | 2 episodes[54][55] | [37] |
Theatre
Year | Title | Role | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
1960 | Troilus and Cressida | Troilus | Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon |
1962 | Measure for Measure | Claudio | |
1963 | The Tempest | Ariel | |
1967 | The Homecoming[11] | Lenny | Music Box Theatre, Broadway |
1967 | Romeo and Juliet | Romeo | Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon |
1997 | King Lear[11] | Lear | Cottesloe Theatre, London |
Honours and awards
Nominations and awards for films and TV roles are listed in filmography.
- Honours
- 1989: Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1989 Birthday Honours.[56]
- 1998: Knight Bachelor in the 1998 Birthday Honours for services to drama.[57]
- Awards
Bibliography
- Holm, Ian; Jacobi, Steven (2004). Acting my Life. London: Bantam Press. ISBN 978-0-593-05214-3.
References
- "Ian Holm obituary: an actor of many facets". BFI. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- "Sir Ian Holm: Lord of the Rings and Alien star dies aged 88". BBC News. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- "Ian Holm Biography". filmreference. 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
- "Ian Holm". Channel 4 Film. 2008. Archived from the original on 18 December 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
- "Ian Holm – Family and Companions". Yahoo!7 Movies. 2008. Archived from the original on 14 January 2006. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
- "Excerpts from Loch Ness Presskit (1995)". aboutjamesfrain. 18 April 2004. Archived from the original on 2 July 2004. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
- Sweet, Matthew (16 January 2004). "Film: Napoleon Complex". The Independent. pp. 8, 9.
- Alan Strachan (2020) "Ian Holm: Versatile actor whose measured, gritty performances took him from Shakespeare to Hollywood" The Independent. Published 19 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- Michael Billington & Ryan Gilbey (2020) "Sir Ian Holm obituary" The Guardian. Published 20 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- Ian Holm with Steven Jacobi (2004). Acting My Life – Ian Holm. Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-593-05214-3.
- "Obituary: Ian Holm". BBC. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
he took the part of Frodo Baggins in BBC Radio 4's massive adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, which featured Holm alongside a host of other stars including Michael Hordern and Robert Stephens.
- Mel Gussow (2020) "Ian Holm, Malleable Actor Who Played Lear and a Hobbit, Dies at 88" The New York Times. Published 19 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Moonlight on the Highway (1969)" British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)" British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)" British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Mary, Queen of Scots (1972)" British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Young Winston (1972)" British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- Mike Barnes (2020) "Ian Holm, Oscar-Nominated Actor in 'Chariots of Fire,' Dies at 88" The Hollywood Reporter. Published 19 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Review: The BBC Lord of the Rings Dramatization re-released by BBC AudioBooks America". www.tolkienlibrary.com.
- Peter Bradshaw (2020) "Ian Holm: a virtuoso actor of steel, sinew – and charm" The Guardian. Published 19 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- Anastasia Tsioulcas (2020) "Actor Ian Holm, Who Played King Lear To Bilbo Baggins, Has Died". NPR. Published 19 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Obituary: Ian Holm" BBC News. Published 19 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Dreamchild (1985)" British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- Roger Ebert (1986) "Dreamchild" film review. rogerebert.com. Published 10 January 1986. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)" British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- Rodrigo Perez (2012) "Review: ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ Rallies From A Goofy Opening To Become Another Thrilling, If Familiar, Action-Adventure Epic" IndieWire. Published 4 December 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Ian Holm". Television Academy. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- Brantley, Ben. THEATER REVIEW; Talk About a Reality Show. A Pinter Classic Is It Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. The New York Times 21 July 2001.
- Holm, Ian; Jacobi, Steven (2004). Acting my Life. London: Bantam Press. pp. 220, 224, 313ff. ISBN 978-0-593-05214-3.
- "England and Wales Marriages 1984–2005". Archived from the original on 20 February 2009.
- Telegraph Obituaries (19 June 2020). "Sir Ian Holm, gifted actor whose many films included Alien and The Lord of the Rings – obituary". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- "Portrait of the actor and his fourth wife". The Daily Telegraph. London. 7 February 2004. Archived from the original on 30 June 2004. Retrieved 14 July 2008.
- Dagan, Carmel (19 June 2020). "Ian Holm, Shakespearean Actor Who Played Bilbo Baggins, Dies at 88". Variety. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- "Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian Holm dies aged 88". BBC News. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- "True Crime Stories: Baroness de Stempel (and family)". The Steeple Times. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- Pulver, Andrew (19 June 2020). "Ian Holm, star of Lord of the Rings, Alien and Chariots of Fire, dies aged 88". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- "Ian Holm". British Film Institute. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- Lambie, Ryan. The Geek's Guide to SF Cinema. London. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-4721-3985-6. OCLC 1027484713.
- "Filmography for Ian Holm". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- Elley, Derek (17 November 1997). "Incognito". Variety. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- Ebert, Roger. "The Emperor's New Clothes movie review (2002)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Strangers with Candy (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "King Oedipus". BFI Collections Search. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "BBC One - Play of the Month, The Wood Demon". BBC Programmes. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Napoleon and Love". Nostalgia Central. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Ian Holm Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Private Affairs". The Radio Times (2748). 8 July 1976. p. 15. ISSN 0033-8060. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Night School". British Universities Film & Video Council. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "The Thief of Baghdad (1978)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "SOS Titanic – review". Radio Times. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Horizon (1964)". Video Detective. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Horizon: A Race Against Time". The Radio Times (3030). 3 December 1981. p. 43. ISSN 0033-8060. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "Monsters We Met (2003, Série, 1 Saison) — CinéSéries" (in French). Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- "1066 Now Arriving in May". myReviewer.com. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- Billen, Andrew (19 May 2009). "1066 The Battle for Middle Earth Moving on the Trouble with Working Women". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011.
- "No. 51772". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 June 1989. p. 8.
- "No. 55155". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 June 1998. p. 2.
- "Evening Standard Theatre Awards 1955-2000". Evening Standard. 8 November 2001. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- Dan Meyer (2020) "Tony and Olivier Award Winner Ian Holm Dies at 88" Playbill. Published June 19, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
- "Film in 1969 | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "Television in 1979 | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- Davies, Gareth (19 June 2020). "Sir Ian Holm, star of Lord of the Rings and Chariots of Fire, dies aged 88". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "Film in 1985 | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "BSFC Winners: 1980s". Boston Society of Film Critics. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- Whitmore, Greg (19 June 2020). "Ian Holm: a life and career in pictures". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- "Television in 1989 | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "Film in 1996 | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "The Sweet Hereafter". Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "KCFCC Award Winners – 1990-99". Kansas City Film Critics Circle. 14 December 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "1997 Archives". National Board of Review. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "Past Award Winners". Toronto Film Critics Association. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "King Lear (Mobil Masterpiece Theatre)". Television Academy. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- Ian Holm with Steven Jacobi (2004). Acting My Life – Ian Holm. Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-593-05214-3., p369
- "The Last Of The Blonde Bombshells". Television Academy. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "The 8th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards | Screen Actors Guild Awards". www.sagawards.org. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "The 10th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards | Screen Actors Guild Awards". www.sagawards.org. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "The BFCA Critics' Choice Awards 2003". Broadcast Film Critics Association. 10 January 2004. Archived from the original on 6 August 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "2003 Archives". National Board of Review. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "The 11th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards | Screen Actors Guild Awards". www.sagawards.org. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- "'Ratatouille' wins big at Annie Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. 9 February 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
External links
- Ian Holm at the Internet Broadway Database
- Ian Holm at IMDb
- Ian Holm at the BFI's Screenonline
- Ian Holm at the TCM Movie Database
- Obituary: Ian Holm by BBC News. Published 19 June 2020.
- Sir Ian Holm obituary by The Guardian. Authors - Michael Billington and Ryan Gilbey. Published 19 June 2020.