Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 - 29 April 2014) was an English actor.[1] His work included lead roles in Pennies from Heaven (1978), The Long Good Friday (1980), Mona Lisa (1986), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Mermaids (1990), and Super Mario Bros. (1993), and supporting performances in Brazil (1985), Hook (1991), Nixon (1995), Enemy at the Gates (2001), Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005), A Christmas Carol (2009), Made in Dagenham (2010), and Snow White and the Huntsman (2012). He also directed two feature films.

Hoskins received the best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival, the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama for his role in Mona Lisa. He was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the same role. In 2009, Hoskins won an International Emmy Award for Best Actor for his appearance on the BBC One drama The Street. In 2012, Hoskins retired from acting due to his battle with Parkinson's disease, and he died from pneumonia on 29 April 2014, at age 71.

Hoskins was born in Bury St Edmunds, West Suffolk, on 26 October 1942 to Robert Hoskins, a bookkeeper and lorry driver, and Elsie (née Hopkins) Hoskins, a cook and nursery school teacher.[2][3] His grandmother was Romani.[4] From two weeks old, he was brought up in Finsbury Park, London.[5] He attended Stroud Green Secondary School; however, his dyslexia meant he was written off as stupid:[6] he left school at the age of 15 with a single O-Level and worked as a porter, lorry driver, plumber and window cleaner. He started on a 3-year accountancy course but dropped out.[7][8] He spent half a year in Israel on a kibbutz, and two years in Syria tending the camels of a Bedouin tribe.[8]

Career

Hoskins filming Ruby Blue in 2007

In 1968, Hoskins' acting career began at the Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, in which he portrayed a servant named Peter in a production of Romeo and Juliet.[9] A year later in 1969, while waiting for his friend, actor Robert Frost, within the bar at the Unity Theatre in London, England, Hoskins found himself being auditioned for a part in a play at the theatre, after being handed a script and told "You're next.".[10] His audition proved a success, leading to Frost becoming his understudy. Frost considered Hoskins to be "a natural", recalling that "He just got up on stage and was brilliant."[11]

Hoskins' first major television role was in On the Move (1975-6),[12] an educational drama series directed by Barbara Derkow intended to tackle adult illiteracy, in which he portrayed the character of Alf Hunt, a removal man who had problems reading and writing. According to eventual producer George Auckland, up to 17 million people watched the series.[13] His breakthrough in television came later in the original BBC version of Dennis Potter's innovative 6-part fantasy-drama Pennies from Heaven (1978), in which he portrayed adulterous sheet music salesman Arthur Parker. After the drama's conclusion, he went on to portray Iago in Jonathan Miller's BBC Television Shakespeare production of Othello.[14] In 1983, Hoskins' voice was used in an advert for Weetabix and during the late 1980s and early 1990s, he appeared in advertising for the recently privatized companies of British Gas and British Telecom (now BT Group).[15][16] Other works in television, made by the BBC, included Flickers, portraying Wilkins Micawber in David Copperfield (1999), and The Wind in the Willows (2006).

Hoskins is more recognised for his cinematic performances. British films, such as The Long Good Friday (1980) and Mona Lisa (1986), won him the wider approval of critics, with the latter film also winning him a Cannes Award, Best Actor Golden Globe, BAFTA Awards, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Some of Hoskins other works in film included: delivering comic turns in Terry Gilliam's Brazil (1985); portraying Smee in Hook (1991) and in Neverland (2011); starring opposite Cher in Mermaids (1990); portraying Nikita Khrushchev as a political commissar in Enemy at the Gates (2001); and playing Uncle Bart, the psychopathic and violent "owner" of Jet Li in Unleashed (aka Danny The Dog). He also received a small role as Pink Floyd's manager in The Wall. Hoskins is noted for directing two films that he also starred in - The Raggedy Rawney (1988) and Rainbow (1996) - and producing Mrs Henderson Presents alongside Norma Heyman, in which he received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film.[17]

One of Hoskins' highest points in his film career was in 1988, in which he portrayed private investigator Eddie Valiant in the Disney, Touchstone, and Amblin Entertainment live-action/animated family blockbuster, Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). Hoskins was not the first choice for the role; Harrison Ford, Bill Murray,[18] and Eddie Murphy were all considered for the part,[19] but film critics agreed that Hoskins was perfect for the role, the most prominent among them being Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.[20] As Hoskins' character interacts and makes physical contact with animated characters in the film, Hoskins was required to take mime training courses in preparation, though he suffered from hallucinations for months, after production on the film had ended.[21][22][23] His performance in the film led to him being nominated for a Golden Globe Award, as well as winning him a British Evening Standard Award.

When there were concerns over whether Robert De Niro would portray the character of Al Capone in The Untouchables, Hoskins was slated to be a last-minute replacement in the event that De Niro refused the role. When this didn't happen, director Brian De Palma mailed Hoskins a cheque for £20,000 with a "Thank You" note, which prompted him to call up De Palma and ask him if there were any more films he did not want him to be in.[24] One of Hoskins' worst experiences in his career was his portrayal of Mario in Super Mario Bros. (1993). In an interview he had with The Guardian in 2007, Hoskins stated that he regretted starring in the film, revealing that he was extremely unhappy with the film and greatly angered by his experiences making it, referring to it as the "worst thing I ever did".[3] He was injured several times on set, spent most of the time with co-star John Leguizamo getting drunk to escape boredom, and had no idea the film was based upon a video game until his son told him.[8]

In 2007, Hoskins appeared in the music video for Jamie T's single "Sheila". [25] In 2009, he made a return to television in Jimmy McGovern's drama serial The Street, where he played a publican who opposes a local gangster. For this role, he received his only Emmy when he won Best Actor at the 2010 International Emmys. In 2011, In Search of La Che featured a character named Wermit and every line of his dialogue was a quote of Bob Hoskins.[26]

On 8 August 2012, Hoskins announced his retirement from acting after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2011.[27]

Personal life

In 1967, aged 25, Hoskins spent a short period of time volunteering in kibbutz Zikim in Israel, and also herded camels in Syria.[28][29][30] When asked in an interview which living person he most despised, Hoskins named Tony Blair and said that "he's done even more damage than Thatcher". He despised Blair to the point that he decided in 2010, for the first time in his life, not to vote for Labour, by then led by Gordon Brown.[31][32] He made light of his similarities with film actor Danny DeVito, whom he joked would play him in a film about his life.[33]

With his first wife Jane Livesey, Hoskins had two children named Alex (born 1968) and Sarah (born 1972). With his second wife Linda Banwell, he had two more children named Rosa (born c. 1983) and Jack (born c. 1986).[34]

Illness and death

In August 2012, Hoskins retired from acting after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2011.[35]

On 29 April 2014, he died of pneumonia at a hospital in London, England at age 71.[1][36] He is survived by his second wife Linda Banwell and his four children.[37]

After his death, Robert Zemeckis, the director of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, said that Hoskins brought enjoyment to audiences worldwide.[37] Among the actors who paid tribute at his funeral were Stephen Fry, Samuel L. Jackson, and Helen Mirren, who said that "London will miss one of her best and most loving sons".[14][38]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972	Up the Front	Recruiting sergeant
1973	The National Health	Foster
1975	Royal Flash	Police Constable
	Inserts	Big Mac
1979	Zulu Dawn	CSM Williams
1980	The Long Good Friday	Harold Shand	Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
1982	Pink Floyd The Wall	Band manager
1983	The Honorary Consul	Colonel Perez	Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1984	Lassiter	Inspector John Becker
	The Cotton Club	Owney Madden
1985	The Woman Who Married Clark Gable	George
	The Dunera Boys	Morrie Mendellsohn
	Brazil	Spoor
1986	Sweet Liberty	Stanley Gould
	Mona Lisa	George	BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Cannes Film Festival: Best Actor Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor London Film Critics Circle Award for Actor of the Year Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Valladolid International Film Festival: Best Actor Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actor
1987	A Prayer for the Dying	Father Michael Da Costa
	The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne	James Madden	Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor
1988	Who Framed Roger Rabbit	Eddie Valiant	Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Actor
	The Raggedy Rawney	Darky	Also director
1990	Heart Condition	Jack Moony
	Mermaids	Lou Landsky
1991	The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish	Louis Aubinard
	Shattered	Gus Klein
	Hook	Smee
	The Inner Circle	Lavrentiy Beria
1992	Passed Away	Johnny Scanlan
	Blue Ice	Sam Garcia
1993	Super Mario Bros.	Mario Mario
	The Big Freeze	Sidney
1995	Nixon	J. Edgar Hoover	Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
	Balto	Boris	Voice
1996	Rainbow	Frank Bailey	Also director
	The Secret Agent	Verloc
	Michael	Vartan Malt
1997	Twenty Four Seven	Alan Darcy	European Film Award for Best Actor
	Spice World	Ginger Spice's disguise	Cameo
1998	Cousin Bette	Cesar Crevel
1999	Parting Shots	Gerd Layton
	Captain Jack	Jack Armistead
	Felicia's Journey	Hilditch	Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
	A Room for Romeo Brass	Steven Laws
	The White River Kid	Brother Edgar
2000	American Virgin	Joey
2001	Enemy at the Gates	Nikita Khrushchev
	Last Orders	Ray "Raysie" Johnson	National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble Nominated - European Film Award for Best Actor
2002	Where Eskimos Live	Sharkey
	Maid in Manhattan	Lionel Bloch
2003	The Sleeping Dictionary	Henry	DVD Exclusive Award for Best Supporting Actor in a DVD Premiere Movie
	Den of Lions	Darius Paskevic
2004	Vanity Fair	Sir Pitt Crawley
	Beyond the Sea	Charlie Maffia
2005	Unleashed	Bart
	Son of the Mask	Odin	Nominated - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor[39]
	Mrs Henderson Presents	Vivian Van Damm	National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble Nominated - British Independent Film Award for Best Actor Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Nominated - St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
	Stay	Dr. Leon Patterson
2006	Paris, je t'aime	Bob Leander	Segment: "Pigalle"
	The Wind in the Willows	Badger
	Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties	Winston	Voice
	Hollywoodland	Eddie Mannix
2007	Sparkle	Vince
	Outlaw	Walter Lewis
	Ruby Blue	Jack	Oxford International Film Festival - Best Actor
	Go Go Tales	The Baron
2008	Doomsday	Bill Nelson
2009	A Christmas Carol	Mr. Fezziwig / Old Joe	Motion capture
2010	Made in Dagenham	Albert	Nominated - British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor
2011	Will	Davey
2012	Outside Bet	Percy "Smudge" Smith
2012	Snow White and the Huntsman	Muir

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972	Villains	Charles Grindley	3 episode
	Play for Today	Taxi driver	Episode: "The Bankrupt"
1973	Crown Court	Freddie Dean	3 episodes
	New Scotland Yard	Eddie Wharton	Episode: "Weight of Evidence"
	Softly, Softly: Taskforce	Parker	Episode: "Outrage"
	Play for Today	Woodbine	Episode: "Her Majesty's Pleasure"
1974	Shoulder to Shoulder	Jack Dunn	Episode: "Outrage"
	Thick as Thieves	Dobbs	8 episodes
	Play for Today	Blake	Episode: "Schmoedipus"
1975	On the Move	Alf	2 years, 100 episodes
1976	Thriller	Sammy Draper	Episode: "Cry Terror"
	The Crezz	Detective Sergeant Marble	Episode: "A Flash of Inspiration"
1977	Van der Valk	Johnny Palmer	Episode: "Dead on Arrival"
	Rock Follies of '77	Johnny Britten	Episode: "The Real Life"
1978	Pennies from Heaven	Arthur Parker	6 episodes Nominated - BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor
1979	Of Mycenae and Men	Mr. Taramasalatopoulos	Television short
1980	Flickers	Arnie Cole	6 episodes
1981	Othello	Iago	Television film
1983	The Beggar's Opera	Beggar	Television film
1985	Mussolini and I	Benito Mussolini	4 episodes
1985	The Dunera Boys	Morrie Mendellsohn	2 episodes
1994	The Changeling	De Flores	Television film
	World War II: When Lions Roared	Winston Churchill	Television film
1995-1999	The Forgotten Toys	Teddy	Voice 26 episodes
1996	Tales from the Crypt	Redmond	Episode: "Fatal Caper"
1999	David Copperfield	Wilkins Micawber	2 episodes
2000	Noriega: God's Favorite	Manuel Noriega	Television film Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film
	Don Quixote	Sancho Panza	Television film
2001	The Lost World	Professor George Challenger	Television film
2003	Frasier	Coach Fuller	Episode: "Trophy Girlfriend"
	The Good Pope: Pope John XXIII	Angelo Roncalli/Pope John XXIII	Television film
2008	The Englishman's Boy	Damon Ira Chance	2 episodes
	Pinocchio	Geppetto	Television film
	The Last Word Monologues	unnamed hitman	Episode: "A Bit of Private Business"
2009	The Street	Paddy Gargan	2 episodes International Emmy Award for Best Actor
2011	Neverland	Smee	2 episodes

Charities

Bob Hoskins supports the following charitable cause: Peace.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]