# Bob Hoskins has died **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2014, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352 "2014-04-30T12:53:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/21 "2014-04-30T19:57:14Z")
I’ll put in another plug for his performance in [Sparkle](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790751/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3). ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/22 "2014-04-30T20:01:09Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > As someone else suggested, if I didn’t know he was Welsh I never would have guessed that he wasn’t from the U.S. based on his accent in that movie! R.I.P., Mr. Hoskins. _Welsh?_ By an odd coincidence, just before I heard he’d died, I watched [Nostalgia Critic’s latest video,](http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/43137-what-you-never-knew-about-roger-rabbit) about _Roger Rabbit._ ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/23 "2014-04-30T20:46:58Z")
What was the movie where he was doing action-adventure stuff – gunfights and the like – with a ghost (!) as his sidekick? The ghost-guy would walk through walls, scout out the next room, and come back and advise Hoskins’ character. Oddball movie. (I only caught a few minutes of it on TV, channel flipping.) In Roger Rabbit, he takes a step, sneers, “Toons,” and swigs from a flask. You have the entirety of the character, perfectly delineated, in four seconds. That’s acting! ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/24 "2014-04-30T20:56:43Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > What was the movie where he was doing action-adventure stuff – gunfights and the like – with a ghost (!) as his sidekick? The ghost-guy would walk through walls, scout out the next room, and come back and advise Hoskins’ character. > > Oddball movie. (I only caught a few minutes of it on TV, channel flipping.) That sounds like Heart Condition, co-starring with Denzel Washington. Racist cop Bob gets Denzel’s heart after a transplant and supernatural hi-jinks ensue! I barely remember the film, it was a desperate last-minute hire from a video shop in about 1993 😃 ---
**Author:** ![priapus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@priapus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priapus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/25 "2014-04-30T22:20:38Z")
I first saw him in a series about the early days of silent films, “Flickers”. Great performances [Bob Hoskins and Frances De La Tour in Flickers, DVD out now - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyElBk-f2Q4) ---
**Author:** ![expectopatronum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/expectopatronum/32/173_2.png) [@expectopatronum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/expectopatronum)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/26 "2014-05-01T00:26:23Z")
i’m truly saddened by this, always really liked him. he was always so enjoyable to watch on screen. RIP ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/27 "2014-05-01T00:47:47Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > _Welsh?_ > > By an odd coincidence, just before I heard he’d died, I watched [Nostalgia Critic’s latest video,](http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/43137-what-you-never-knew-about-roger-rabbit) about _Roger Rabbit._ I also watched it last night, only to wake up and learn he died. I’m glad the video is really nothing but praising the movie and how cool it is. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/28 "2014-05-01T01:15:13Z")
Roger Rabbit made him the Undisputed Champion on my personal “I can’t believe that actor is British” list. He goes out undefeated. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/29 "2014-05-01T01:25:38Z")
Well, damn. I wasn’t even aware he had retired or had Parkinson’s. RIP, Bob. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/30 "2014-05-01T01:55:10Z")
One of my favourite turns from Hoskins was as Nikita Khruschev in _Enemy At the Gates_: it was only a bit part, but he absolutely made you believe that this was the ruthlesly cunning foulmouthed peasant who would go on to rule the Soviet Union. And I remember his Iago, too: most people play him as a moustache-twirling villain, all skulking and sneering, but Hoskins made him far more believable as an apparent bluff and hearty soldier whom everyone trusted. RIP, Bob. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/31 "2014-05-01T02:20:57Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > We just saw ROGER RABBIT on Sunday, hadn’t seen it in a lonnng time, and were amazed at how good he was. One of the first Brits to actually do a GOOD American accent. So damn good I didn’t even know he was British. True loss. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/32 "2014-05-01T02:38:09Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > His work in Roger Rabbit was one of the most amazing pieces of acting ever. He had to make us believe in a character who wouldn’t exist for months. Go here to watch him act with and without the finished animation: [http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2014/04/29/framed-roger-rabbit-without-animation-video](http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2014/04/29/framed-roger-rabbit-without-animation-video) ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/33 "2014-05-01T02:56:21Z")
Dang now it’s looking really unlikely that the super mario bros sequel will get made Rip ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/34 "2014-05-01T03:09:07Z")
I will snipe some Nazis in tribute. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/35 "2014-05-01T17:49:39Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > That sounds like Heart Condition, co-starring with Denzel Washington. Racist cop Bob gets Denzel’s heart after a transplant and supernatural hi-jinks ensue! I barely remember the film, it was a desperate last-minute hire from a video shop in about 1993 😃 I have it on VHS 🙂 because it’s ultimately a sweet movie. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/36 "2014-05-01T19:22:35Z")
There was a great series called Villains made by London Weekend Television in 1972. That’s the first time I saw Bob Hoskins. He played one of the villains and I took to him straight away. After that I would watch for him on various TV shows as he started to get more parts. It took him a while to establish himself. He was doing small parts in daytime shows like Crown Court, educational programs like On The Move for those with learning difficulties (1975). But whenever he turned up I was always delighted to see that memorable face, hear that distinctive voice. Then came the BBC Pennies From Heaven in 1978, a starring role. He knocked it out of the park and he never looked back. Bye Bob, I shall miss you. ---
**Author:** ![expectopatronum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/expectopatronum/32/173_2.png) [@expectopatronum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/expectopatronum)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/37 "2014-05-01T23:06:37Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > So damn good I didn’t even know he was British. True loss. Ha, me either. i always thought he was doing an accent in Hook, not Roger Rabbit. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/38 "2014-05-01T23:14:44Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > And I shall fill out a [27B/6](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tjbfezPC4bM/TV6fJCg_aCI/AAAAAAAAANQ/qxV-fnQYB2E/s1600/27B-6.gif). Oh, man, that was him?! ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/39 "2014-05-01T23:21:23Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > And I remember his Iago, too: most people play him as a moustache-twirling villain, all skulking and sneering, but Hoskins made him far more believable as an apparent bluff and hearty soldier whom everyone trusted. Yes. Iago is a notoriously difficult role to get right, given that the motivation for his malice is so sketchily rendered by Shakespeare. I’ve seen five or six Iagos, and in my view Hoskins is the only one who really nailed the character. Hell of an achievement (which unfortunately is little seen today, due to the controversial casting of Othello in that “BBC Television Shakespeare” production). ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352/40 "2014-05-02T03:44:46Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > His work in Roger Rabbit was one of the most amazing pieces of acting ever. He had to make us believe in a character who wouldn’t exist for months. What’s weird is that he had trouble turning it off. [Bob Hoskins: I had a breakdown but losing my children was the worst thing I ever experienc | Express Yourself | Comment | Express.co.uk](http://www.express.co.uk/expressyourself/338810/Bob-Hoskins-I-had-a-breakdown-but-losing-my-children-was-the-worst-thing-I-ever-experienc) > [@](#): > > But his greatest ordeal was acting opposite cartoon characters in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. “I had trained myself to hallucinate and in the end it screwed up my brain,” he recalled. “I would be sitting, talking normally and suddenly a weasel would creep out of the wall at me.” His doctors told him to take five months off but he didn’t work for a year. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-hoskins-has-died/687352.md?page=3)