Ian Holm

Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor. After graduating from RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and beginning his career on the British stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he became a successful and prolific performer on television and in film. He received numerous accolades including two BAFTA Awards and a Tony Award, along with a nomination for an Academy Award. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998 for services to drama.<ref name="BFI Holm Obit">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="BBC Obit">Template:Cite news</ref>

Holm won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in the Harold Pinter play The Homecoming. He won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role in the 1998 West End production of King Lear. For his television roles he received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for King Lear, and the HBO film The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2003).

Holm gained acclaim for his role in The Bofors Gun (1968), winning the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and won a second BAFTA Award for his role as athletics trainer Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire (1981). Other notable films he appeared in include Alien (1979), Brazil (1985), Dreamchild (1985), Henry V (1989), Naked Lunch (1991), The Madness of King George (1994), The Fifth Element (1997), The Sweet Hereafter (1997), and The Aviator (2004). He played Napoleon three separate times. He gained wider appreciation for his role as the elderly Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy.

Early life and education

Ian Holm Cuthbert was born on 12 September 1931 in Goodmayes, Essex, to Scottish parents, James Cuthbert and his wife Jean (née Holm). 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.<ref name="Guardian Obit"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He had an older brother, who died when Ian was 12 years old.<ref name=Strachan>Alan Strachan (2020) "Ian Holm: Versatile actor whose measured, gritty performances took him from Shakespeare to Hollywood" Template:Webarchive The Independent. Published 19 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.</ref> Holm was educated at the independent Chigwell School in Essex.<ref name="Guardian Obit">Michael Billington & Ryan Gilbey (2020) "Sir Ian Holm obituary" Template:Webarchive The Guardian. Published 20 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.</ref><ref name=Strachan/> His parents retired to Mortehoe in Devon and then to Worthing, where he joined an amateur dramatic society.<ref name=ActingMyLife>Template:Cite book</ref>

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.<ref name="Guardian Obit"/><ref name="BBC Holm Obit"/> His studies were interrupted a year later when he was called up for National Service in the British Army,<ref name="BBC Holm Obit"/> during which he was posted to Klagenfurt, Austria, and attained the rank of Lance Corporal. They were interrupted a second time when he volunteered to go on an acting tour of the United States in 1952.<ref name=ActingMyLife /> Holm graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1953.<ref name="Guardian Obit"/>

He made his stage debut in 1954, at Stratford-upon-Avon, playing a spear carrier in a staging of Othello.<ref name=NYTObit>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.</ref> Two years later, he made his London stage debut in Love Affair.<ref name=NYTObit/>

Career

Holm was an established actor in the Royal Shakespeare Company before he gained notice in television and film. He began in 1954 with minor roles, progressing to Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream and the fool in King Lear.<ref name="BBC Holm Obit"/> In 1965, he played Richard III in the BBC serialisation of The Wars of The Roses, based on the RSC production of the plays. He gained acclaim for his role in the 1968 film The Bofors Gun, winning the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.<ref name="Bafta Bofors">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1969, he appeared in Moonlight on the Highway.<ref>"Moonlight on the Highway (1969)" British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 June 2020.</ref> He took on minor roles in films such as Oh! What a Lovely War (1969),<ref>"Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)" British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 June 2020.</ref> Nicholas and Alexandra (1971),<ref>"Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)" British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 June 2020.</ref> Mary, Queen of Scots (1972)<ref>"Mary, Queen of Scots (1972)" British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 June 2020.</ref> and Young Winston (1972).<ref>"Young Winston (1972)" British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 June 2020.</ref>

In 1967 Holm won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play as Lenny in The Homecoming by Harold Pinter. Holm appeared in the 1977 television mini-series Jesus of Nazareth as the Sadducee Zerah, and as the villain in March or Die. The following year he played J. M. Barrie in the award-winning BBC mini-series The Lost Boys,<ref name=THR>Mike Barnes (2020) "Ian Holm, Oscar-Nominated Actor in 'Chariots of Fire,' Dies at 88" Template:Webarchive The Hollywood Reporter. Published 19 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.</ref> In 1981, he played Frodo Baggins in the BBC radio adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Holm's first film role to gain much notice was that of Ash, the "calm, technocratic" science officer – later revealed to be an android – in Ridley Scott's science-fiction film Alien (1979).<ref name=GuardianFilmBlog/> His portrayal of the running coach 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.<ref name=GuardianFilmBlog/><ref name="Tsioulcas">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=BBCNews/> In the 1980s, Holm played in Time Bandits (1981), Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) and Brazil (1985). He played Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland, in Dreamchild (1985).<ref>"Dreamchild (1985)" British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 June 2020.</ref><ref>Roger Ebert (1986) "Dreamchild" film review Template:Webarchive. rogerebert.com. Published 10 January 1986. Retrieved 20 June 2020.</ref>

In 1989, Holm was nominated for a BAFTA award for the television series Game, Set and Match.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Based on the novels by Len Deighton, this tells the story of an intelligence officer (Holm) who finds a security leak at the heart of his network.<ref name="NYT">Template:Cite news</ref> He continued to perform Shakespeare in films. He appeared with Kenneth Branagh in Henry V (1989)<ref name="BFI Henry V">Template:Cite web</ref> and as Polonius to Mel Gibson's Hamlet (1990).<ref name="BFI Hamlet">Template:Cite web</ref> Holm was reunited with Branagh in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), playing the father of Branagh's Victor Frankenstein.<ref>"Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)" British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 June 2020.</ref>

File:Ian Holm studying the Ring FOTR 2001.jpg

Holm as Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The role brought him wider fame, somewhat overshadowing the rest of his acting career.<ref name="BFI Holm Obit"/>

Holm raised his profile in 1997 with two prominent roles, as the priest Vito Cornelius in Luc Besson's sci-fi The Fifth Element and the lawyer Mitchell Stephens in The Sweet Hereafter. In 2001 he starred in From Hell as the physician Sir William Withey Gull.<ref name="BFI Holm Obit"/> The same year, he followed up his radio role as Frodo by appearing as Frodo's older cousin Bilbo Baggins in the blockbuster film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. This brought him wider fame, somewhat overshadowing the rest of his acting career.<ref name="BFI Holm Obit"/> 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 films The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.<ref name="BBC Holm Obit">Template:Cite news</ref> Martin Freeman portrayed the young Bilbo in those films.<ref>Rodrigo Perez (2012) "Review: ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ Rallies From A Goofy Opening To Become Another Thrilling, If Familiar, Action-Adventure Epic" Template:Webarchive IndieWire. Published 4 December 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2020.</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He voiced Chef Skinner in the Pixar animated film Ratatouille (2007).<ref name="Turner Filmography"/> He appeared in two David Cronenberg films: Naked Lunch (1991) and eXistenZ (1999).<ref name=GuardianFilmBlog>Peter Bradshaw (2020) "Ian Holm: a virtuoso actor of steel, sinew – and charm" Template:Webarchive The Guardian. Published 19 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.</ref> His acting was admired by Harold Pinter: the playwright once said: "He puts on my shoe, and it fits!"<ref>Brantley, Ben. THEATER REVIEW; Talk About a Reality Show. A Pinter Classic Is It Template:Webarchive. The New York Times 21 July 2001.</ref> Holm played Lenny in both the London and New York City premieres of Pinter's The Homecoming; the BBC wrote that he "electrified audiences" in the play.<ref name=BBCNews>"Obituary: Ian Holm" Template:Webarchive BBC News. Published 19 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.</ref> 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.<ref name=THR/> Holm received royal recognition for his contributions: he was made CBE in 1989 and knighted in 1998.<ref name="Guardian Obit"/>

Personal life

Holm was married four times:<ref name=holm>Template:Cite book</ref> to Lynn Mary Shaw in 1955 (divorced 1965); to Sophie Baker in 1982 (divorced 1986); to the actress Penelope Wilton, in Wiltshire, in 1991 (divorced 2002); and to the artist Sophie de Stempel in 2003. He had five children.<ref name="Guardian Obit"/><ref name="Telegraph Obit">Template:Cite news</ref>

Holm and Wilton appeared together in the BBC miniseries The Borrowers (1993). His last wife, Sophie de Stempel, was a protégée and a life model of Lucian Freud,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and an artist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1989 by Queen Elizabeth II.<ref name="BFI Holm Obit">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="BBC Obit">Template:Cite news</ref>

Holm was treated for prostate cancer in 2001.<ref name=holm/> He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2007.<ref name="Variety obit">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="BBC obit">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Steeple Times">Template:Cite web</ref>

Death

File:Holm, Ian 2020.jpg

Holm's grave in Highgate Cemetery

Holm died in hospital in London on 19 June 2020 at the age of 88.<ref name="Guardian obit">Template:Cite news</ref> According to Alex Irwin, Holm's agent, his death was related to Parkinson's disease.<ref name="Tsioulcas" /> His remains are interred on the western side of Highgate Cemetery.<ref name="Frommers">Template:Cite web</ref>

Posthumous image use

With the consent of his heirs, the role of android Rook was generated from Holm's archive data and computer-generated imagery for the 2024 film Alien: Romulus, the identical model to Ash, the character of the first Alien film, he played in 1979.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Rookeffect2">Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Tooltip
1968	The Bofors Gun	Flynn		<ref name="Bafta Bofors"/>
	The Fixer	Grubeshov		<ref name="Turner Filmography">Template:Cite web</ref>
	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Puck		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1969	Oh! What a Lovely War	Raymond Poincaré		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
1970	A Severed Head	Martin Lynch-Gibbon		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
1971	Nicholas and Alexandra	Vasily Yakovlev		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Mary, Queen of Scots	David Rizzio		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
1972	Young Winston	George E. Buckle		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
1973	The Homecoming	Lenny		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
1974	Juggernaut	Nicholas Porter		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
1976	Robin and Marian	King John		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Shout at the Devil	Mohammed		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
1977	March or Die	El Krim		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1979	Alien	Ash		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	S.O.S. Titanic	J. Bruce Ismay		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
1981	Chariots of Fire	Sam Mussabini		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Time Bandits	Napoleon		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
1982	The Return of the Soldier	Doctor Anderson		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Inside the Third Reich	Joseph Goebbels		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1984	Laughterhouse	Ben Singleton		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes	Capitain Philippe D'Arnot		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Terror in the Aisles	Ash		<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1985	Dreamchild	Charles L. Dodgson		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Wetherby	Stanley Pilborough		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Brazil	Mr Kurtzmann		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Dance with a Stranger	Desmond Cussen		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Mr and Mrs Edgehill	Eustace Edgehill		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1988	Another Woman	Ken Post		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
1989	Henry V	Fluellen		<ref name="BFI Henry V"/>
1990	Hamlet	Polonius		<ref name="BFI Hamlet"/>
1991	Naked Lunch	Tom Frost		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Kafka	Doctor Murnau		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
1992	Blue Ice	Sir Hector		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
1993	The Hour of the Pig	Albertus		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1994	Mary Shelley's Frankenstein	Baron Alphonse Frankenstein		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	The Madness of King George	Francis Willis		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
1996	Big Night	Pascal		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Loch Ness	Water Bailiff		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
1997	Night Falls on Manhattan	Liam Casey		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	The Sweet Hereafter	Mitchell Stephens		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	The Fifth Element	Father Vito Cornelius		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	A Life Less Ordinary	Naville		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Incognito	John	Uncredited cameo	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1998	Alice through the Looking Glass	White Knight		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	King Lear	Lear		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1999	Shergar	Joseph Maguire		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	eXistenZ	Kiri Vinokur		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Simon Magus	Sirius/Boris/The Devil		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Wisconsin Death Trip	Frank Cooper (voice)		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	The Match	Big Tam		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
2000	Joe Gould's Secret	Joe Gould		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	The Miracle Maker	Pontius Pilate (voice)		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	The Last of the Blonde Bombshells	Patrick		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Esther Kahn	Nathan Quellen		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Beautiful Joe	George The Geek		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Bless the Child	Reverend Grissom		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
2001	From Hell	Sir William Gull		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	The Emperor's New Clothes	Napoleon / Eugene Lenormand		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Bilbo Baggins		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
2003	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King			<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
2004	The Day After Tomorrow	Professor Terry Rapson		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Garden State	Gideon Largeman		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	The Aviator	Professor Fitz		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
2005	Strangers with Candy	Dr Putney		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Chromophobia	Edward Aylesbury		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Lord of War	Simeon Weisz		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
2006	Renaissance	Jonas Muller (voice)		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	O Jerusalem	Ben Gurion		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	The Treatment	Ernesto Morales		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
2007	Ratatouille	Chef Skinner (voice)		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
2012	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey	Older Bilbo Baggins		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
2014	The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies		Final film role	<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
2024	Alien: Romulus	Rook	Voice and likeness digitally recreated	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Rookeffect2">Template:Cite web</ref>

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Tooltip
1972–74	BBC Play of the Month	Khrushchov/Oedipus	2 episodes	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1974	Napoleon and Love	Napoleon I	9 episodes	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1974–75	The Lives of Benjamin Franklin	Wedderburn	3 episodes	<ref name=Britannica>Template:Cite web</ref>
1975	Private Affairs	David Garrick	Episode: Mr Garrick and Mrs Woffington	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1977	The Man in the Iron Mask	Duval	Television film	<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Jesus of Nazareth	Zerah	Parts 1 & 2	<ref name="Guardian Obit"/>
	Jubilee	Bill Ramsey	Episode: Ramsey	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1978	Do You Remember?	Walter Street	Episode: Night School	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	The Lost Boys	J. M. Barrie	3 episodes	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
	Holocaust	Heinrich Himmler	2 episodes	<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	Les Misérables	Thénardier	Television film	<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	The Thief of Baghdad	The Gatekeeper		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1979	All Quiet on the Western Front	Himmelstoss		<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	S.O.S. Titanic	Bruce Ismay		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1980	We, the Accused	Paul Pressett	Miniseries; 5 episodes	<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
	The Misanthrope	Alceste	Television film	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1981–2008	Horizon	Narrator	Television documentary	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1982	The Bell	Michael Meade	Television drama	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Play for Today	Alexie	Television play (episode: Soft Targets)	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Tales of the Unexpected	Alan Corwin	Television play (episode: Death Can Add)	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1985	Television	Narrator	Television documentary series	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1986	Murder by the Book	Hercule Poirot	Television film	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1988	Game, Set and Match	Bernard Samson	13 episodes	<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
1989	The Tailor of Gloucester	The Tailor	Television film	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	The Endless Game	Control	2 episodes	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1991	Uncle Vanya	Astrov	BBC TV	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1992	The Borrowers	Pod Clock	6 episodes	<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
1993	The Return of the Borrowers			<ref name="Turner Filmography"/>
1999	Animal Farm	Squealer (voice)	Television film	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2003	Monsters We Met	Narrator	Television documentary	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2004	The Last Dragon		Television film	<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
2005	The Adventures of Errol Flynn		Television documentary	<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
2009	1066: The Battle for Middle Earth		2 episodes	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2020	Scary Stories Around the Fire	Teller (voice)	2 episodes; podcast

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Template:Tooltip
1954–	Shakespeare plays	multiple roles	Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon	<ref name="BBC Holm Obit"/>
1959	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Puck	Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon	<ref name="RSC Holm Obit">Template:Cite web</ref>
	King Lear	The Fool	Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon	<ref name="BBC Holm Obit"/>
1962	Troilus and Cressida	Troilus	Aldwych Theatre, London	<ref name="RSC Holm Obit"/>
1965	Henry V	Henry V	Aldwych Theatre, London	<ref name="RSC Holm Obit"/>
1966	Twelfth Night	Malvolio	Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon	<ref name="RSC Holm Obit"/>
1967	Romeo and Juliet	Romeo	Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon	<ref name="BBC Holm Obit"/>
	The Homecoming	Lenny	Music Box Theatre, Broadway	<ref name="BBC Holm Obit"/>
1997	King Lear	Lear	Cottesloe Theatre, London	<ref name="BBC Holm Obit"/>

Honours and accolades

• 1989: Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1989 Birthday Honours.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
• 1998: Knighted in the 1998 Birthday Honours for services to drama.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>

Bibliography

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:IBDB name
• Template:IMDb name
• Template:Screenonline name
• Template:TCMDb name
• 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.