Prolific actor Tom Wilkinson, who you might have seen in films like The Patriot, Michael Clayton, The Full Monty, and In the Bedroom, which earned him an Oscar nomination, has passed away. Wilkinson has over 100 television and film credits in his long career, being featured in various genres. If you go through his body of work, there is no role he couldn’t do (via Washington Post):
Mr. Wilkinson died suddenly at home, according to a statement his representative Nancy Selzer shared on behalf of his family.
“It is with great sadness that the family of Tom Wilkinson announce that he died suddenly at home on December 30. His wife and family were with him,” the statement read.
[…]
A versatile character actor, Mr. Wilkinson often played intimidating, serious or menacing roles on screen while telegraphing warmth and humor in interviews.
In a 2014 appearance on Canadian television after the release of the Australian crime thriller “Felony,” Mr. Wilkinson said that after years in the business, it was still “unnerving” to see himself on film.
“Increasingly, you know, you look and you think ‘who is that old, fat man? Oh! It’s me!’” Mr. Wilkinson joked before turning introspective.
“When I look in the mirror, it’s not what I look like that I’m interested in, it’s who I am,” Wilkinson said. “‘Who is this person I’ve been looking at fairly continuously for a long time?’ He’s still a bit of a mystery.”
From a doctor specializing in erasing memories, as seen in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which also starred Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, to a hardened gangster in ‘Carmine Falcone’ in Batman Begins alongside Christian Bale—Wilkinson was a frequent face across a variety of screens.
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Before Kevin Spacey was engulfed in sexual assault allegations, he starred alongside him in HBO’s Recount, playing former Bush White House Chief of Staff and Secretary of State James Baker. That film premiered in 2008, the same year he played Benjamin Franklin in the critically acclaimed John Adams, which also starred Paul Giamatti, who played the late president, and Laura Linney as Abigail Adams.
For those who aren’t into historical dramas, quirky comedies, or legal thrillers, Wilkinson played the infamous Southeast Asian crime lord ‘Juntao’ in Rush Hour with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.
Wilkinson said that an opportunity to direct a small play when he was 18 led to his "calling," according to the BBC.
"For the first time in my life, I started doing something I knew how to do," the late actor said.
Wilkinson was 75 years old.
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