The family of actor Tom Wilkinson, who was nominated for two Oscars, has confirmed his death at the age of 75.
The British actor passed away “suddenly” on Saturday. He was best remembered for his role as Gerald Arthur Cooper in the 1997 comedy The Full Monty.
He is survived by his actress wife, Diana Hardcastle, 74, and their two daughters, Alice and Mollie.
In The Full Monty, Wilkinson won a Bafta for best supporting actor. The film chronicles a group of out-of-work Sheffield steelworkers who decide to start a male-only striptease act to make ends meet.
During his illustrious fifty-year career, Wilkinson also acted in the romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love (1998), the action thriller Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011), and Christopher Nolan’s 2005 blockbuster Batman Begins.
His tragic death was confirmed in a statement shared by his agent on behalf of his family.
The statement read: ‘It is with great sadness that the family of Tom Wilkinson announces that he died suddenly at home on December 30. His wife and family were with him. The family asks for privacy at this time.’
After getting married in 1988, Wilkinson and his spouse starred as husband and wife in the 2011 film The Kennedys and the 2014 motion picture Good People. The most recent role they played together was in the period drama series Belgravia, which premiered in 2020.
Wilkinson received nominations for six Baftas overall and two Oscars for his roles as a grieving father in the drama In The Bedroom (2001) and Michael Clayton (2007, starring George Clooney), a legal thriller.
In addition to his more than 130 film and television appearances, the actor was honoured with a 2009 Golden Globe and a 2008 Emmy for his portrayal of American statesman Benjamin Franklin in the HBO series John Adams, in which he co-starred with Paul Giamatti.
He later appeared in the 2011 movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with Bill Nighy, Dame Judi Dench, and his wife, Dame Penelope Walton, among a star-studded cast.
And he most recently made a comeback with Robert Carlyle and Mark Addy, his co-stars from The Full Monty, in the eponymous Disney+ series.
In the original film, Wilkinson played a former steel mill foreman who was recruited to help the unemployed Sheffield men dance ahead of them performing to a Tom Jones version of You Can Leave Your Hat On.
He was a talented performer, and The Full Monty is still one of my all-time favourite films. He was brilliant.
Though I adored him in every role, The Full Monty will always have a particular place in my heart. He was a great actor who was a credit to his field.
RIP to a legendary British actor.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 