Bob Hoskins dies, aged 71

BAFTA-winning actor Bob Hoskins has died at the age of 71, following a battle with Parkinson’s disease. Born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, in 1942, he became one of the most recognisable British performers of the 1980s and 90s, noted particularly for his portayal of London gangsters in the films The Long Good Friday (1980) and Mona Lisa (1986), winning the BAFTA for best actor for the latter.

He first came to wide attention in the 1978 Dennis Potter TV series Pennies from Heaven, before taking on lead roles in films in both the UK and Hollywood. He starred as the private detective investigating murder and corruption in Toontown in the half-animated Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination. He played boatswain Smee to Captain Hook twice, first for Steven Spielberg in 1990’s Hook and later in the 2011 miniseries Neverland.

Despite his work in high-profile American films, he would also lend his talents to low-budget fare, notably his turn as the inspiring boxing trainer in Shane Meadows’ black-and-white drama Twenty Four Seven (1997). His final role was in 2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman, after which he announced his retirement from acting.