Sir Ian Holm, 1931-2020
June 19, 2020 6:54 AM Subscribe
Ian Holm, British actor known for an astonishing variety of roles in film and on stage, including Ash in Alien, Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings, and Father Cornelius in The Fifth Element, has died of complications related to Parkinson's. He was 88.
Holm was born in 1931, and was one of the original members of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960. After winning a Tony award for Harold Pinter's The Homecoming, he went on to a career in film that included an Oscar nomination for his role in Chariots of Fire. His last film role was in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, in 2014.
Obituaries: The Guardian, Variety, BBC.
Holm was born in 1931, and was one of the original members of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960. After winning a Tony award for Harold Pinter's The Homecoming, he went on to a career in film that included an Oscar nomination for his role in Chariots of Fire. His last film role was in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, in 2014.
Obituaries: The Guardian, Variety, BBC.
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Also, Fluellen in Kenneth Branagh's Henry V
posted by PlusDistance at 7:00 AM on June 19, 2020 [12 favorites]
Also, Fluellen in Kenneth Branagh's Henry V
posted by PlusDistance at 7:00 AM on June 19, 2020 [12 favorites]
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posted by RolandOfEld at 7:07 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by RolandOfEld at 7:07 AM on June 19, 2020
"And he lived happily ever after... to the end of his days."
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posted by Fizz at 7:10 AM on June 19, 2020 [19 favorites]
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posted by Fizz at 7:10 AM on June 19, 2020 [19 favorites]
He was tremendous. As good as actors get. Seeing him was always a pleasure.
I especially liked him in the British costume drama Napoleon and Love. He was front and centre for the whole of the series rather than play some supporting player (and one usually more interesting than the lead), and to have just that much Ian Holm was wonderful. Such a rich performance, with all the subtle changes to Napoleon when with each of his loves, to his sheer frustration at having to deal with his incompetent grifter Mafia family relatives.
Thank you, sir.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:11 AM on June 19, 2020 [5 favorites]
I especially liked him in the British costume drama Napoleon and Love. He was front and centre for the whole of the series rather than play some supporting player (and one usually more interesting than the lead), and to have just that much Ian Holm was wonderful. Such a rich performance, with all the subtle changes to Napoleon when with each of his loves, to his sheer frustration at having to deal with his incompetent grifter Mafia family relatives.
Thank you, sir.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:11 AM on June 19, 2020 [5 favorites]
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posted by a device for making your enemy change his mind at 7:13 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by a device for making your enemy change his mind at 7:13 AM on June 19, 2020
One those actors that was amazing and memorable in any role no matter what size.
posted by octothorpe at 7:17 AM on June 19, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 7:17 AM on June 19, 2020 [3 favorites]
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posted by supermedusa at 7:24 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by supermedusa at 7:24 AM on June 19, 2020
He was fantastic in The Sweet Hereafter.
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posted by sallybrown at 7:26 AM on June 19, 2020 [9 favorites]
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posted by sallybrown at 7:26 AM on June 19, 2020 [9 favorites]
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posted by grumpybear69 at 7:26 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by grumpybear69 at 7:26 AM on June 19, 2020
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posted by Strutter Cane - United Planets Stilt Patrol at 7:26 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by Strutter Cane - United Planets Stilt Patrol at 7:26 AM on June 19, 2020
this one hurts.
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I had no idea of Napoleon and Love, but he also played Napoleon in Time Bandits.
I was a little disappointed that the CNN headline said "Lord of the Rings Star", but so it goes.
posted by condour75 at 7:27 AM on June 19, 2020 [15 favorites]
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I had no idea of Napoleon and Love, but he also played Napoleon in Time Bandits.
I was a little disappointed that the CNN headline said "Lord of the Rings Star", but so it goes.
posted by condour75 at 7:27 AM on June 19, 2020 [15 favorites]
I have rather pedestrian tastes in media, but he always classed up anything I've seen him in, but in an often understated, perfectly crafted way. From LOTR to the 5th Element to Alien, he was there for some of my favorite movies. He was one of those actors who is so talented you never think of them as themselves playing a role, you simply think of them as their character.
He simply was Bilbo Baggins of Bag End. Or a bit of a dodgy priest keeping the flame for a ludicrous religion in an even more ludicrous world. He was the paternal-in-appearance Ash, who never quite seemed to fit until you find out why in a scene squarely on par with anything the xenomorph had to offer, in terms of horror and viscerality.
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posted by Godspeed.You!Black.Emperor.Penguin at 7:31 AM on June 19, 2020 [6 favorites]
He simply was Bilbo Baggins of Bag End. Or a bit of a dodgy priest keeping the flame for a ludicrous religion in an even more ludicrous world. He was the paternal-in-appearance Ash, who never quite seemed to fit until you find out why in a scene squarely on par with anything the xenomorph had to offer, in terms of horror and viscerality.
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posted by Godspeed.You!Black.Emperor.Penguin at 7:31 AM on June 19, 2020 [6 favorites]
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posted by a snickering nuthatch at 7:33 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 7:33 AM on June 19, 2020
He really was brilliant in Alien. It's a very subtle performance. I always catch something new each time I re-watch, like how he does this little running in place thing when the team is first going out on their reconnaissance to find the emergency signal they've received. It shows that he's not quite like the others, a very small glimpse into his being an android, there's a sped-up motion to his movements.
Such a great talent.
posted by Fizz at 7:40 AM on June 19, 2020 [13 favorites]
Such a great talent.
posted by Fizz at 7:40 AM on June 19, 2020 [13 favorites]
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posted by JoeXIII007 at 7:43 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by JoeXIII007 at 7:43 AM on June 19, 2020
I was a little disappointed that the CNN headline said "Lord of the Rings Star", but so it goes.
The Guardian article lists Chariots of Fire in the headline and I didn't even think anyone remembered that movie but I guess Holm was nominated for an Oscar.
posted by octothorpe at 7:44 AM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
The Guardian article lists Chariots of Fire in the headline and I didn't even think anyone remembered that movie but I guess Holm was nominated for an Oscar.
posted by octothorpe at 7:44 AM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
Never saw him in a bad role, even in some not-so-great movies. We’ve lost one of the good ones.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:46 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:46 AM on June 19, 2020
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posted by drivingmenuts at 7:47 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by drivingmenuts at 7:47 AM on June 19, 2020
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posted by jim in austin at 7:49 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by jim in austin at 7:49 AM on June 19, 2020
Adding:
Mr Kurtzmann in Brazil
The successful restauranteur in Big Night.
And .
posted by doctornemo at 8:00 AM on June 19, 2020 [7 favorites]
Mr Kurtzmann in Brazil
The successful restauranteur in Big Night.
And .
posted by doctornemo at 8:00 AM on June 19, 2020 [7 favorites]
From the 1981 BBC Lord of the Rings Radio Drama, where he played Frodo: "Oh ho ho, to the bottle I go, heal my heart and drown my woe. Good health, Bilbo, wherever you are."
posted by dirtdirt at 8:07 AM on June 19, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by dirtdirt at 8:07 AM on June 19, 2020 [6 favorites]
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He was so good in so many movies but somehow I remember him best from the telepathic conversation^ from Naked Lunch.
posted by fleacircus at 8:15 AM on June 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
He was so good in so many movies but somehow I remember him best from the telepathic conversation^ from Naked Lunch.
posted by fleacircus at 8:15 AM on June 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
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posted by lalochezia at 8:19 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by lalochezia at 8:19 AM on June 19, 2020
one of those actors who tended to own his roles, by which I mean, once you see in him something, it's almost impossible to imagine anyone else doing it.
brazil (1985) - mr kurtzmann
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posted by philip-random at 8:25 AM on June 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
brazil (1985) - mr kurtzmann
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posted by philip-random at 8:25 AM on June 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
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posted by runincircles at 8:28 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by runincircles at 8:28 AM on June 19, 2020
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Whether he'd be personally pleased to be remembered for playing Bilbo and Frodo, I don't know, but the quality of both of his performances makes that his lasting mark on me. I didn't forget him as Napoleon, though.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:32 AM on June 19, 2020
Whether he'd be personally pleased to be remembered for playing Bilbo and Frodo, I don't know, but the quality of both of his performances makes that his lasting mark on me. I didn't forget him as Napoleon, though.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:32 AM on June 19, 2020
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posted by May Kasahara at 8:36 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by May Kasahara at 8:36 AM on June 19, 2020
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posted by pseudophile at 8:40 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by pseudophile at 8:40 AM on June 19, 2020
I think I first noticed him as Polonious in Zeffirelli's Hamlet. I was always pleased to see him after that.
posted by He Is Only The Imposter at 8:56 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by He Is Only The Imposter at 8:56 AM on June 19, 2020
Always loved seeing him turn up in a film because was great in every role.
posted by Liquidwolf at 9:06 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by Liquidwolf at 9:06 AM on June 19, 2020
Don't forget a handkerchief on this adventure brave hafling.
posted by Freedomboy at 9:33 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by Freedomboy at 9:33 AM on June 19, 2020
Ash in Alien: "I admire its purity."
I remember noticing him later in Game, Set and Match on Mystery in the late 80s. The series was based on Len Deighton's Berlin Game, Mexico Set, and London Match. Never read the books, but the series and Ian Holm certainly stayed with me.
And heartbreaking in the devastating Sweet Hereafter.
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posted by conscious matter at 9:44 AM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
I remember noticing him later in Game, Set and Match on Mystery in the late 80s. The series was based on Len Deighton's Berlin Game, Mexico Set, and London Match. Never read the books, but the series and Ian Holm certainly stayed with me.
And heartbreaking in the devastating Sweet Hereafter.
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posted by conscious matter at 9:44 AM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by praemunire at 9:50 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by praemunire at 9:50 AM on June 19, 2020
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I rewatched Chariots of Fire recently and he was lovely in it, but to me he will always be Bilbo.
posted by ChuraChura at 9:52 AM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
I rewatched Chariots of Fire recently and he was lovely in it, but to me he will always be Bilbo.
posted by ChuraChura at 9:52 AM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
Big Night, Alien, Brazil, Time Bandits, The Sweet Hereafter, The Madness of King George, Chariots of Fire.....Oh What A Lovely War. I've had a handful of inadvertent Ian Holm film festivals, and they are always so so satisfying.
posted by winesong at 10:06 AM on June 19, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by winesong at 10:06 AM on June 19, 2020 [3 favorites]
In addition to playing Bilbo in the Rings movies, he memorably played Frodo in the many many episodes of the early 1980s radio serial version - oh, as noted above already.
posted by JonJacky at 10:10 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by JonJacky at 10:10 AM on June 19, 2020
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posted by BlackLeotardFront at 10:12 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 10:12 AM on June 19, 2020
How many actors are absolutely memorable in every single role? Not many.
I can't think of a role more genuinely frightening than Ash. So uncanny, so weirdly alien that it overtakes the xenomorphs in my memory.
Then he turns around the next year and plays the deeply human, humane Mussabini in Chariots? That is a large mind and heart at the peak of its power.
And then Bilbo, to perfection?
He gave us much, and I'll miss seeing him inhabit yet another character.
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posted by Caxton1476 at 10:31 AM on June 19, 2020
I can't think of a role more genuinely frightening than Ash. So uncanny, so weirdly alien that it overtakes the xenomorphs in my memory.
Then he turns around the next year and plays the deeply human, humane Mussabini in Chariots? That is a large mind and heart at the peak of its power.
And then Bilbo, to perfection?
He gave us much, and I'll miss seeing him inhabit yet another character.
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posted by Caxton1476 at 10:31 AM on June 19, 2020
Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace.
I don't think there are all that many people of whom it can be said, "They entertained billions," but Ian Holm was one of them.
posted by ob1quixote at 10:36 AM on June 19, 2020
I don't think there are all that many people of whom it can be said, "They entertained billions," but Ian Holm was one of them.
posted by ob1quixote at 10:36 AM on June 19, 2020
As much as I loved him in the LOTR movies and as Napoleon in Time Bandits, I can never forget his character in The Fifth Element, as pronounced by Milla Jovovich, "Father Corn-eee-lee-ooooos!"
RIP dear Bilbo, et al. You will be deeply missed.
posted by Lynsey at 11:04 AM on June 19, 2020 [4 favorites]
RIP dear Bilbo, et al. You will be deeply missed.
posted by Lynsey at 11:04 AM on June 19, 2020 [4 favorites]
Napoleon was a cameo that stole the show, as he often does.
posted by ovvl at 11:32 AM on June 19, 2020
posted by ovvl at 11:32 AM on June 19, 2020
I just learned Ian Holm’s role in The Sweet Hereafter was supposed to go to Donald Sutherland. I’m glad it went to Holm; it’s still the number one role that comes to mind when I think of him, even though I’ve seen him in many films. He inhabited Mitchell Stevens so perfectly.
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posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:05 PM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:05 PM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
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[less about him as a person than the role of the LotR movies in my life, I think, but I haven't cried over the death of a famous person like this since Bowie][and yes, his Napoleon in Time Bandits was utterly delightful and ridiculous]
posted by epersonae at 12:40 PM on June 19, 2020
[less about him as a person than the role of the LotR movies in my life, I think, but I haven't cried over the death of a famous person like this since Bowie][and yes, his Napoleon in Time Bandits was utterly delightful and ridiculous]
posted by epersonae at 12:40 PM on June 19, 2020
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posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:44 PM on June 19, 2020
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:44 PM on June 19, 2020
Big Night, Brazil, Time Bandits, Chariots of Fire, Lord of the Rings, thank you, Sir Ian.
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posted by theora55 at 12:50 PM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by theora55 at 12:50 PM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
The movie adaptation of From Hell was a disaster in just about every way, except for Sir Ian's performance as William Gull. And we'd be remiss if we failed to mention his turn as Lewis Carroll in Dreamchild.
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posted by Faint of Butt at 12:53 PM on June 19, 2020
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posted by Faint of Butt at 12:53 PM on June 19, 2020
Oh man, Ian Holm is dead? :( :( :(
Anyway, I watched Napoleon and Love back in April, and I admit I did not like it at all. (A friend of mine who owned the DVDs said he didn't want them anymore, and I asked him to send them to me, and... well, he did warn me.) I found it ponderous, dragging and anti-climactic. But Holm managed to do the best he could with the terrible script. Apparently it was supposed to be more of a high budget production about the battles but it was turned into something all about the ladies, and... Holm was NOT happy.
Anyway, besides Time Bandits, Holm appeared one more time as Napoleon in the 2001 feature The Emperor's New Clothes, which I enjoyed much more than Napoleon and Love. He was very good in that too!
But (out of all the movies I've watched recently) I probably enjoyed him the most in (the also very draggy and ponderous) Nicholas and Alexandra (1971). He played the righteous revolutionary Yakovlev, and my God, he was like a shot of adrenaline in the movie. I wish he'd had a bigger role.
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posted by suburbanbeatnik at 1:10 PM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
Anyway, I watched Napoleon and Love back in April, and I admit I did not like it at all. (A friend of mine who owned the DVDs said he didn't want them anymore, and I asked him to send them to me, and... well, he did warn me.) I found it ponderous, dragging and anti-climactic. But Holm managed to do the best he could with the terrible script. Apparently it was supposed to be more of a high budget production about the battles but it was turned into something all about the ladies, and... Holm was NOT happy.
Anyway, besides Time Bandits, Holm appeared one more time as Napoleon in the 2001 feature The Emperor's New Clothes, which I enjoyed much more than Napoleon and Love. He was very good in that too!
But (out of all the movies I've watched recently) I probably enjoyed him the most in (the also very draggy and ponderous) Nicholas and Alexandra (1971). He played the righteous revolutionary Yakovlev, and my God, he was like a shot of adrenaline in the movie. I wish he'd had a bigger role.
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posted by suburbanbeatnik at 1:10 PM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
Tumblr is sharing this gifset:
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:24 PM on June 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
I regret to announce this is the end!.
I'm going now.
I bid you all a very fond farewell.
Goodbye.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:24 PM on June 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
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posted by dannyboybell at 1:49 PM on June 19, 2020
posted by dannyboybell at 1:49 PM on June 19, 2020
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Damn. Cor-nee-lius...
So good in everything.
posted by Windopaene at 2:50 PM on June 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
Damn. Cor-nee-lius...
So good in everything.
posted by Windopaene at 2:50 PM on June 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
He was an amazing actor. I'll always regret having missed his Lear, which meant I never saw him live. But on film, what a presence. I'd say "what an artist" but you never saw the art, only the character.
One scene from his Fluellen in Branagh's Henry V is here-- he starts it and then comes back around the 3 minute mark. I do love how his Fluellen sees how much of a wreck Henry is, and chooses the right words to keep him together.
Rufus Sewell on Twitter:
One scene from his Fluellen in Branagh's Henry V is here-- he starts it and then comes back around the 3 minute mark. I do love how his Fluellen sees how much of a wreck Henry is, and chooses the right words to keep him together.
Rufus Sewell on Twitter:
Very sad to hear about Ian Holm. One of my heroes growing upSam West on Twitter:
I was lucky enough (but terrified) to do my very first TV job with him in 1992 and he was wonderful and very kind. An actor's actor.
Daughter just asked why I was so sad.posted by Pallas Athena at 2:54 PM on June 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
Ian Holm died.
- Who’s Ian Holm?
An actor.
- A great actor?
Yes. A great actor.
Alien. Lord of the Rings. Chariots of Fire. Richard III. RIP.
Never worked with Ian Holm, but my dad played Gloucester to his King Lear in 1997.
The older men were asked to grow beards. Holm, Michael Bryant, David Burke and Da, who knew each other, sat together at the readthrough. Richard Eyre said it looked like a garden gnome convention
Oh no. Oh damn.
He was always so good but god, he just blew me away in The Sweet Hereafter. I'm breaking out my copy and watching it tonight.
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posted by kitten kaboodle at 3:10 PM on June 19, 2020
He was always so good but god, he just blew me away in The Sweet Hereafter. I'm breaking out my copy and watching it tonight.
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posted by kitten kaboodle at 3:10 PM on June 19, 2020
He also wore the leek with Harry at the battle of Agincourt in Branagh's film of Henry V.
(I also seem to get Holm mixed up with Derek Jacobi in my mind. I know they are two different people, I know they look similar yet quite different (Holm was always cuter to my eye, with Jacobi being the "oh, that's danger sitting at the bar" for me)... but I always have to stop and go... Yeah, that's Holm. That twinkle in his eye was magical.)
posted by hippybear at 5:44 PM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
(I also seem to get Holm mixed up with Derek Jacobi in my mind. I know they are two different people, I know they look similar yet quite different (Holm was always cuter to my eye, with Jacobi being the "oh, that's danger sitting at the bar" for me)... but I always have to stop and go... Yeah, that's Holm. That twinkle in his eye was magical.)
posted by hippybear at 5:44 PM on June 19, 2020 [1 favorite]
Fizz: "He really was brilliant in Alien. It's a very subtle performance. I always catch something new each time I re-watch, like how he does this little running in place thing when the team is first going out on their reconnaissance to find the emergency signal they've received. It shows that he's not quite like the others, a very small glimpse into his being an android, there's a sped-up motion to his movements. "
Watched it again tonight. My 16 year old, seeing it for the first time, said part-way through, "There's something off about this guy...."
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posted by Chrysostom at 9:24 PM on June 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
Watched it again tonight. My 16 year old, seeing it for the first time, said part-way through, "There's something off about this guy...."
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posted by Chrysostom at 9:24 PM on June 19, 2020 [2 favorites]
He was my favourite Frodo. The BBC's radio adaptation of Lord of the Rings was really excellent, and it was lovely to see his part there 'reflected' in his appearance as Bilbo in the films.
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posted by Pentickle at 2:14 AM on June 21, 2020
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posted by Pentickle at 2:14 AM on June 21, 2020
So many of his roles have been mentioned, but I'd like to remember his performance in Big Night, one of my favorite films, and one in which he gives a standout supporting performance in a cast full of great actors (Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub, Allison Janney, Minnie Driver, Isabella Rossellini, and Campbell Scott).
Holm plays a flamboyant restaurateur with a boisterous, over-the-top personality. But in a key scene, he is understated and calm, pointing out that as a businessman, he is whatever he needs to be at any time. Such it always was for Holm on screen.
posted by Gelatin at 6:36 AM on June 22, 2020
Holm plays a flamboyant restaurateur with a boisterous, over-the-top personality. But in a key scene, he is understated and calm, pointing out that as a businessman, he is whatever he needs to be at any time. Such it always was for Holm on screen.
posted by Gelatin at 6:36 AM on June 22, 2020
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