Bob Hoskins

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 Parkinson's disease, and he died from pneumonia on 29 April 2014, at age 71.
== Early life ==
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 where he was written off as stupid on account of his dyslexia.[6] He left school at 15 with a single O-Level and worked as a porter, lorry driver, plumber and window cleaner. He started but did not complete a 3-year accountancy course.[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' acting career began in 1968 at the Victoria Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent, in a production of Romeo and Julietin which he portrayed a servant named Peter.[9]A year later, while waiting in the bar at Unity Theatre, London, for his friend the actor Robert Frost, Hoskins found himself being auditioned for a play after being handed a script and told "you're next."[10] His audition was successful and Frost became his understudy. Frost considered Hoskins "a natural", recalling that "he just got up on stage and was brilliant."[11]
His first major television role was in On the Move (1975–1976), an educational drama series directed by Barbara Derkow intended to tackle adult illiteracy.[12]He portrayed the character Alf Hunt, a removal man who had problems reading and writing. According to 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. He went on to play Iago in Jonathan Miller's BBC Television Shakespeare production of Othello (1981).[14] In 1983 Hoskins voiced an advert for Weetabixand during the late 1980s and early 1990s, he appeared in advertising for British Gas and British Telecom (now BT Group).[15][16] Other television work included Flickers, portraying Wilkins Micawber in David Copperfield (1999), and The Wind in the Willows (2006).
British films such as The Long Good Friday (1980) and Mona Lisa (1986) won him the wider approval of critics, the latter film winning him a Cannes Award, Best Actor Golden Globe, BAFTA Awards, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. 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 violent psychopathic "owner" of Jet Li in Unleashed (2005; aka Danny The Dog). He had a small role as Pink Floyd's manager in The Wall (1979). He directed two films that he also starred in: The Raggedy Rawney (1988) and Rainbow (1996), and produced Mrs Henderson Presents alongside Norma Heyman, for which he was nominated Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film.[17]
A high point in his career was portraying private investigator Edward "Eddie" Valiant in the live-action/animated family blockbuster, Who Framed Roger Rabbit(1988). Hoskins was not the first choice for the role; Harrison Ford, Bill Murray, and Eddie Murphy were all considered for the part.[18][19] Film critics, among them Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, agreed that Hoskins was perfect for the role.[20] As his character interacts and makes physical contact with animated characters in the film, Hoskins was required to take mime training courses in preparation. He suffered hallucinations for months after production on the film had ended.[21][22][23] He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and won a British Evening Standard Award for his performance.
Hoskins was slated to be the last-minute replacement in case Robert De Nirorefused the role of Al Capone in The Untouchables (1987). When De Niro accepted the part, the director Brian De Palma mailed Hoskins a cheque for £20,000 with a "Thank You" note. Hoskins was moved to call the director and ask if there were any more films he wasn't needed for.[24]
He told The Guardian in 2007 that he regretted starring as Mario in Super Mario Bros. (1993), saying that he was extremely unhappy with the film, greatly angered by his experiences making it, and referring to it as the "worst thing I ever did". 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 told so by his son.[8]
In 2007 Hoskins appeared in the music video for Jamie T's single "Sheila". [25] In 2009 he returned to television for Jimmy McGovern's drama serial The Street, playing a publican who opposes a local gangster. For this role he received his only Emmy: Best Actor at the 2010 International Emmys. The 2011 film In Search of La Che features a character, "Wermit", whose every line of dialogue is a quote of Bob Hoskins.[26]
On 8 August 2012 Hoskins announced his retirement from acting having been 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 	
1975	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 	
1984	The Cotton Club 	Owney Madden 	
1985	The Woman Who Married Clark Gable 	George 	
1985	The Dunera Boys 	Morrie Mendellsohn 	
1985	Brazil 	Spoor 	
1986	Sweet Liberty 	Stanley Gould 	
1986	Mona Lisa 	George 	BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Cannes Film Festival: Best Actor (tied with Michel Blanc in Ménage)
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 (tied with William Hurtin Kiss of the Spider Woman)
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	
1987	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
1988	The Raggedy Rawney 	Darky 	Also director
1990	Heart Condition 	Jack Moony 	
1990	Mermaids 	Lou Landsky 	
1991	The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish	Louis Aubinard 	
1991	Shattered 	Gus Klein 	
1991	Hook 	Smee 	
1991	The Inner Circle 	Lavrentiy Beria 	
1992	Passed Away 	Johnny Scanlan 	
1992	Blue Ice 	Sam Garcia 	
1993	Super Mario Bros. 	Mario Mario 	
1993	The Big Freeze 	Sidney 	
1995	Nixon 	J. Edgar Hoover 	Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1995	Balto 	Boris 	Voice
1996	Rainbow 	Frank Bailey 	Also director
1996	The Secret Agent 	Verloc 	
1996	Michael 	Vartan Malt 	
1997	Twenty Four Seven 	Alan Darcy 	European Film Award for Best Actor
1997	Spice World 	Ginger Spice'sdisguise 	Cameo
1998	Cousin Bette 	Cesar Crevel 	
1999	Parting Shots 	Gerd Layton 	
1999	Captain Jack 	Jack Armistead 	
1999	Felicia's Journey 	Hilditch 	Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
1999	A Room for Romeo Brass 	Steven Laws 	
1999	The White River Kid 	Brother Edgar 	
2000	American Virgin 	Joey 	
2001	Enemy at the Gates 	Nikita Khrushchev 	
2001	Last Orders 	Ray "Raysie" Johnson 	National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble
Nominated – European Film Award for Best Actor (shared with ensemble cast)
2002	Where Eskimos Live 	Sharkey 	
2002	Maid in Manhattan 	Lionel Bloch 	
2003	The Sleeping Dictionary 	Henry 	DVD Exclusive Award for Best Supporting Actor in a DVD Premiere Movie
2003	Den of Lions 	Darius Paskevic 	
2004	Vanity Fair 	Sir Pitt Crawley 	
2004	Beyond the Sea 	Charlie Maffia 	
2005	Unleashed 	Bart 	
2005	Son of the Mask 	Odin 	Nominated – Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor[39]
2005	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
2005	Stay 	Dr. Leon Patterson 	
2006	Paris, je t'aime 	Bob Leander 	Segment: "Pigalle"
2006	The Wind in the Willows 	Badger 	
2006	Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties 	Winston 	Voice
2006	Hollywoodland 	Eddie Mannix 	
2007	Sparkle 	Vince 	
2007	Outlaw 	Walter Lewis 	
2007	Ruby Blue 	Jack 	Oxford International Film Festival - Best Actor
2007	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
1972 	Play for Today 	Taxi driver 	Episode: "The Bankrupt"
1973 	Crown Court 	Freddie Dean 	3 episodes
1973 	New Scotland Yard 	Eddie Wharton 	Episode: "Weight of Evidence"
1973 	Softly, Softly: Taskforce 	Parker 	Episode: "Outrage"
1973 	Play for Today 	Woodbine 	Episode: "Her Majesty's Pleasure"
1974 	Shoulder to Shoulder 	Jack Dunn 	Episode: "Outrage"
1974 	Thick as Thieves 	Dobbs 	8 episodes
1974 	Play for Today 	Blake 	Episode: "Schmoedipus"
1975 	On the Move 	Alf 	2 years, 100 episodes
1976 	Thriller 	Sammy Draper 	Episode: "Cry Terror"
1976 	The Crezz 	Detective Sergeant Marble 	Episode: "A Flash of Inspiration"
1977 	Van der Valk 	Johnny Palmer 	Episode: "Dead on Arrival"
1977 	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 - BBC
1983 	The Beggar's Opera 	Beggar 	Television film - BBC
1985 	Mussolini and I 	Benito Mussolini 	4 episodes
1985 	The Dunera Boys 	Morrie Mendellsohn 	2 episodes
1994 	The Changeling 	De Flores 	Television film
1994 	World War II: When Lions Roared	Winston Churchill 	Television film - NBC
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
2000 	Don Quixote 	Sancho Panza 	Television film - Hallmark
2001 	The Lost World 	Professor George Challenger 	Television film - BBC
2003 	Frasier 	Coach Fuller 	Episode: "Trophy Girlfriend"
2003 	The Good Pope: Pope John XXIII 	Angelo Roncalli/Pope John XXIII	Television film
2008 	The Englishman's Boy 	Damon Ira Chance 	2 episodes
2008 	Pinocchio 	Geppetto 	Television film
2008 	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
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