Bob Hoskins, who shot to fame in Dennis Potter’s Pennies from Heaven and won an International Emmy best actor award in 2010 for Jimmy McGovern’s The Street, has died from pneumonia at the age of 71.
A statement from his wife and children said: “Bob died peacefully in hospital last night [Tuesday] surrounded by family following a bout of pneumonia. We are devastated by the loss.”
Hoskins, who began his acting career at the Unity Theatre in 1969, made his television debut in 1976 and became a key on-screen figure in the renaissance of British cinema in the 1980s with memorable appearances in The Long Good Friday, Mona Lisa – for which he received an Oscar nomination – and Brazil. His other film credits include Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
On stage he appeared in productions including As You Desire Me in 2005, opposite Kristin Scott Thomas at the Playhouse Theatre in London.
In August 2012 he announced his retirement following his discovery that he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
