The Guardian reports that Pete Postlethwaite died on January 2 of cancer. The 64-year-old thespian, who earned fame and respect for his Oscar-nominated performance in IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER (1993), had a wide-ranging resume that extended back to 1975; included were numerous genre titles: ALIEN 3 (1992), JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH (1996), DRAGONHEART (1996), THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK (1997), ALICE IN WONDERLAND (a 1999 TV movie), ANIMAL FARM (a 1999 animated telefilm), DARK WATER (2005), AEON FLUX (2005), THE OMEN (2006), GHOST SON (2007), SOLOMON KANE (2009), CLASH OF THE TITANS, and INCEPTION (2010).
Postlethwaite was one of those consistently good character actor who was always worth watching; never a star, he was always memorable in his supporting roles. Case in point: despite the critical bile hurled at CLASH OF THE TITANS, Postlethwaite breathed a convincing humanity into his role as Spyros, so that his death carried the dramatic weight necessary to anchor Perseus’ quest to unseat the gods.
Postlethwaite’s last credit was KILLING BONO, scheduled for U.K. release in April.