Pete Postlethwaite dies aged 64

Pete Postlethwaite

British acting legend and proper gentleman Pete Postlethwaite has passed away aged 64.

The actor, who has appeared in a great variety of films and was nominated for an Oscar in 1994 for In The Name of The Father , died “peacefully” yesterday in a hospital in Shropshire.

Postlethwaite had been undergoing treatment for cancer, and had continued working throughout that period.

He was once called “the best actor in the world” by Steven Spielberg, who Postlethwaite worked with in Jurassic Park: The Lost World .

In 2010, he appeared in Inception and The Town , while previous credits include The Constant Gardener , Brassed Off , Romeo + Juliet and The Usual Suspects .

In 2009, Postlethwaite starred in climate change film The Age Of Stupid , telling Total Film of the new awareness he hoped the film would bring about: “Ignorance, lack of awareness of the situation is one of the biggest things. Evil is what happens when good people do nothing.”

He also told us about his appearance on stage in King Lear , which he brought to the London Vic in 2009 and was one of his last ever stage appearances.

“We’re playing to a packed house every night and that’s very rewarding. It’s a tough old show, it’s a good long journey.”

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.