We at The Watchers are saddened to hear of the passing of Sir Ian Holm. The veteran actor of stage and screen passed away today (June 19th 2020) at the age of 88.
Holm was born in 1931 at the mental institution that his father ran. Inspired to become an actor by seeing a production of Les Misérables at the age of seven, he studied at RADA, graduating in 1953 after two pauses to his studies (one for National Service, the other for an acting tour of America). He found work in Stratford, and became a significant member of the Royal Shakespeare Company when it was founded in 1960. He played Richard III in a BBC adaptation of the RSC's Wars Of The Roses tetralogy to great acclaim.
On stage, he originated the role of Lenny in Harold Pinter's The Homecoming in 1965, reprising his role in the Broadway production (and winning a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in A Play). He would reprise his role as Lenny for the 1973 film version, directed by Peter Hall.
He made his first credited film appearance in 1968, playing Gunner Flynn in The Bofors Gun, a drama about the interaction between a squad of soldiers during a single night of guard duty of the titular weapon. Holm would win his first BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor for his role in this film. He went on to play Puck in Peter Hall's 1968 star-studded adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream (opposite David Warner, Helen Mirren, Diana Rigg, Judi Dench, and Ian Richardson) and played President Raymond Poincaré in Oh! What A Lovely War (1969)
Throughout the 1970s, Holm worked steadily in film and television with roles in Nicholas And Alexandra (1971), Mary Queen Of Scots (1971), Young Winston (1972) and Robin And Marian (1976). In 1976, he was playing Hickey in Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh when he developed crippling stage fright which meant he quickly withdrew from the production; describing the experience as "a breakdown", Holm stated the experience was "a scar on my memory that will never go away". As such, he only appeared intermittently on stage after that point.
However, in 1979, Holm would take a film role that would become one of his best-known: Ash in Alien. Alien has a fantastic ensemble cast, but Holm is wonderfully cold as the treacherous crew-member, who is revealed to not only be an android but also to have been aware of the Corporation's plan from the very beginning. His assault on Ripley is difficult to watch, and his final line- "I can't lie to you about your chances, but... you have my sympathies"- is just chilling. Alien could have just been a schlocky B-movie, but its acting elevates it to something greater, and that's thanks in no small part to Holm's nuanced and creepy performance.
Holm's next film role would see him receive his only Oscar nomination- for Best Supporting Actor- in Chariots Of Fire (1981). The story of the rivalry between Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) and Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson) as they compete at the 1924 Paris Olympics is a well-beloved classic of British cinema. But it's Holm's performance as professional athletics coach Sam Mussabini (who helped to train Abrahams to win an Olympic gold medal for the 100m sprint) that gained the majority of the acting plaudits for the film; although it would win four Oscars- including Best Picture- Holm he didn't win the Oscar; that went to fellow Brit John Gielgud for Arthur. He did, however, win his second BAFTA for the role.
Other roles for Holm in the 1980s include Napoleon Bonaparte in Time Bandits (1981), Capitaine Phillippe D'Arnot in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord Of The Apes (1984) [which gained him a third BAFTA Film Award nomination], Mr. Kurtzmann in Brazil (1985), Desmond Cussen in Dance With A Stranger (1985), and Captain Fluellen in Henry V (1989). In 1984, he was considered for the role of the villainous Morgus in the Doctor Who serial The Caves Of Androzani- Peter Davison's last story as The Doctor- which was eventually played by John Normington (with whom Holm co-starred in A Midsummer Night's Dream). He also played Frodo Baggins in the 1981 BBC radio adaptation of The Lord Of The Rings.
Holm started the 1990s in another Shakespeare adaptation, playing the ill-fated Polonius in Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet (1990) alongside Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, and Alan Bates. He also appeared in Naked Lunch (1991), The Hour Of The Pig (1993), Frankenstein (1994) as Victor's father, Dr. Willis in The Madness Of King George (1994), Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element (1997), A Life Less Ordinary (1997) as Naville, and as Kiri Vinokur in eXistenZ (1999).
He took a rare lead role in Atom Egoyan's 1997 drama The Sweet Hereafter, playing lawyer Mitchell Stephens who persuades the grieving parents of a small town to bring a class action lawsuit against the town and bus company which caused the death of 14 children. He was a last minute replacement for Donald Sutherland, who was originally cast but withdrew.
In 1997, Holm made a rare return to the stage, playing the lead role in King Lear at the National Theatre in London. Winning the Olivier Award for Best Actor for his intense turn as Lear, a version of the play was recorded in 1998 and broadcast on the BBC and on PBS in America. He would also receive his first Primetime Emmy nomination for his performance.
Moving in to the 21st century, he would get a second Emmy nomination for his role as Patrick, the drummer in an all-girl swing band (he dressed as a woman to avoid having to go to war), in TV movie The Last Of The Blonde Bombshells. He also played Sir William Gull in From Hell (2001), the adaptation of Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's graphic novel about the search for Jack The Ripper. He also had roles in The Day After Tomorrow (2004), The Aviator (2004) and Lord Of War (2005). In 2007, he provided the voice for Chef Skinner in the Pixar movie Ratatouille, and would win an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting.
The role for which Holm will probably be most remembered for, though, comes in 2001 and continues to 2014 as he plays the role of Bilbo Baggins for Peter Jackson's The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. He appears in four of the six films: The Fellowship Of The Ring- where his sudden possession by the One Ring provides an unexpected scare; The Return Of The King, where he takes his leave and heads into the west during one of the film's many endings; An Unexpected Journey, where he introduces the story to Frodo; and The Battle Of The Five Armies, which bookends his tale. His appearance in the latter film is Holm's final film credit.
Holm was an incredibly capable and reliable character actor whose presence would give a scene some dignity and gravitas. He will be missed. Our thoughts are with his friends, family, and children at this difficult time.
