Tom Wilkinson, the actor who could transform a maniacal lawyer, a steel foreman turned stripper, and turn bits and pieces into fascinating twists, won Oscar nominations and praise for his performances in films like “Michael Clayton” and “The Full Monty”. He died Saturday, according to The Associated Press. He was 75.
The AP cited a statement from his agent on behalf of his family that said he died suddenly at home. No further details were disclosed.
Mr. Wilkinson's reach seemed to know no bounds.
He received Oscar nominations for his work in “In the Bedroom” and “Michael Clayton” and wowed audiences in comedies such as “The Full Monty” and “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.”
He appeared in blockbusters like “Shakespeare in Love” and “Batman Begins,” and tackled horror in “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” history as Benjamin Franklin in “John Adams,” and memory in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless.” Mind”. ”
He often didn't have the name recognition or sheer star power of the actors he played – including George Clooney, Sissy Spacek and Ben Affleck. But through his decades of work on television, film and the stage, he captured the attention of audiences and the acclaim of critics.
“I see myself as a utility player who can do anything,” he told The New York Times in 2002. “I've always felt that actors should have a certain level of anonymity about themselves.”
For many Brits, however, “The Full Monty” remains his most popular performance as one of the gruff, unemployed steelworkers in Sheffield, England, who plan to make some money and improve their self-esteem by starting a striptease gig for the city.
Mr. Wilkinson played Gerald Cooper, an aging former foreman who joins the squad partly to escape the ornamental gnomes his wife has set up on the lawn.
However, his range extended far beyond comedy and he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in “In the Bedroom,” directed by Todd Field.
Alongside Ms. Spacek, Mr. Wilkinson played one half of a Maine couple struggling with the aftermath of their son's murder. Mr. Field said he was attracted to Mr. Wilkinson because he was an everyman.
“You don’t normally think that Robert Redford is going to live next door,” Mr. Field told The Times. “But you think Tom Wilkinson might live next door. That is the difference.”
A few years later, Mr. Wilkinson regained recognition as a high-profile lawyer who suffers a breakdown in Tony Gilroy's “Michael Clayton.” He was nominated for another Oscar for his performance in this film.
By this time, Mr. Wilkinson had already been working as an actor in theater, television and film for three decades.
Born in Yorkshire, England, his parents moved to Canada when he was 4, looking for better work than farming. Their stay only lasted six years, during which his father worked as an aluminum smelter. The family returned to Britain, where Mr Wilkinson's parents ran a pub in Cornwall until his father's death, which drew Mr Wilkinson and his mother back to Yorkshire.
Information about his survivors was not immediately available.
Mr Wilkinson said his life took a sharp turn at 16 at King James's Grammar School in Knaresborough, where the headteachers “just decided she would make something of me”.
This, he said, “meant being invited into her home, learning how to eat and which knives and forks to reach for first.”
“We went to the theater together,” he said. “After wandering aimlessly around school, someone suddenly became interested in me.”
However, he said that it was not until he entered the University of Canterbury in 1967 that he was drawn to acting. After college, he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where he discovered that it was possible for “working-class kids from the provinces” to open art galleries, lead rock bands, become designers, and become actors.
“All the things that weren’t cool became cool,” he said. “I saw the young, provincial bohemian and thought this role could be mine. I will be active in art. You can have a life in art. Why not?”