# Ian Holm RIP **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [June 22, 2020, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747 "2020-06-22T15:54:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747/1 "2020-06-22T15:54:39Z")
> **[Ian Holm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Holm)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert CBE (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor known for his roles on stage and screen. Beginning his career on the British stage as a standout member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he later transitioned into a successful and prolific screen career. He received numerous accolades including two BAFTA Awards and a Tony Award along with nominations for an Academy Award and two Emmy Awards. He was made a Commande... He died June 19. There was a now-gone thread in the SDMB Brigadoon, but I thought he deserved a more permanent one. Holm was a talented chameleon of an actor and a nice guy, by all accounts. I particularly remember him as a drunk, feisty Napoleon in _Time Bandits_, an icily efficient science officer in _Alien_, a cunning bureaucrat in _Brazil_ and a sprightly hobbit in _The Lord of the Rings_ and _The Hobbit_. May he rest in peace. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747/2 "2020-06-22T16:40:38Z")
I looked him up on Wikipedia just a few weeks ago because I was trying to remember the name of the movie where he plays Napoleon switching places with a sailor to escape from St. Helena (“The Emperor’s New Clothes”). He was also very good in “The Sweet Hereafter”. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747/3 "2020-06-22T16:43:12Z")
Thanks for creating the thread. In addition to playing Bilbo in the LOTR movies, he played Frodo in the BBC radio drama, whcih I am fond of (great for long road trips) Brian ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747/4 "2020-06-22T16:55:29Z")
He had the talent to play both the heavy and the good guy and sell them both. He was always a pleasure to watch. My own favorite was _Chariots of Fire_, where he was the ‘professional’ trainer for one of the runners. His muttered line “I’ve seen better organized riots” is still a go-to for me. Fare ye well, Mr. Holms’ ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747/5 "2020-06-22T18:08:42Z")
He was excellent as Napoleon in _Time Bandits_ and as the bodiless Ash in _Alien_. He had small but effective turns in _The Aviator_ and _Garden State._ He was also very good in a more substantive supporting role in _The Advocate_ (1993, a.k.a. _The Hour of the Pig_), one of the more obscure titles in his _oeuvre_, in which he plays a country priest in 15th century France quite unlike the 23rd century silly-ass priest he plays in _The Fifth Element_. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747/6 "2020-06-22T19:02:01Z")
I’m currently busy watching him in _The Lost Boys_. > **[The Lost Boys (miniseries)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Boys_(TV_series))** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > The Lost Boys is a 1978 docudrama mini-series produced by the BBC, written by Andrew Birkin, and directed by Rodney Bennett. It is about the relationship between Peter Pan creator J. M. Barrie and the Llewelyn Davies boys. > Novelist and playwright James Barrie (Ian Holm) meets the two oldest Davies boys, George and Jack, during outings with their nurse Mary Hodgson (Anna Cropper) in Kensington Gardens. He entertains them, especially George, wit... Brilliant understated acting, and Ian Holm is in almost every scene throughout the three 1½ hour episodes. Exceptional and natural child actors too. Also historically accurate, with no added modern melodrama or modern points of view, and not dumbed down. But it’s very slow, so not everyone will enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747/7 "2020-06-22T19:12:42Z")
I was so sad to hear this! ---
**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:** [June 22, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747/8 "2020-06-22T19:15:18Z")
You need to read Peter Jackson’s write-up on Ian Holm, especially the part about how he came to join The Hobbit movies. > [@](#): > > In the finished movie, I hope that audiences just see Ian Holm reprising Bilbo. But what I experienced on set was a wonderful actor delivering his last performance. It was incredibly brave of him to do that, and very emotional for those who witnessed it. [Read the entire write-up here. It’s very well done.](https://deadline.com/2020/06/bye-bilbo-baggins-peter-jackson-mourns-passing-sir-ian-holm-1202964837/) ---
**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:** [June 22, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747/9 "2020-06-22T19:28:19Z")
He’s dead, but you can still talk to him if you put his head on a table and hook up the right wires. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lantern2/32/3010_2.png) [@Lantern2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern2)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747/10 "2020-06-22T20:56:24Z")
I hadn’t realized that Holm played Mussabini in Chariots of Fire. He was also very good in the Sweet Hereafter particularly in the scene where he talks about almost losing his daughter. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747/11 "2020-06-22T20:57:26Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > You need to read Peter Jackson’s write-up on Ian Holm, especially the part about how he came to join The Hobbit movies. That was a lovely article. Thanks for sharing ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747/12 "2020-06-23T01:05:33Z")
He also played the successful Italian restaurant owner in _Big Night_, and more than holds his own opposite Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub. ---
**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:** [June 23, 2020, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747/13 "2020-06-23T01:13:40Z")
You are welcome! ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747/14 "2020-06-23T06:26:02Z")
My favorite Ian Holm movie is [The Sweet Hereafter](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120255/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0), in which he plays a lawyer who comes to a Canadian town to enlist the residents in a lawsuit over a school bus accident in which most of the town’s children were killed. Many of the townspeople are unhappy with him because his investigations stir up some bad memories. His character is motivated not just by money, but by loss in his own life. The story has parallels with The Pied Piper of Hamelin. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747/15 "2020-06-23T08:07:53Z")
Well, at least the Whitechapel doxies can breathe easier tonight… …he was good in _From Hell_, is what I’m saying. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2020, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ian-holm-rip/911747/16 "2020-06-23T08:33:21Z")
I’m remembering _Dreamchild_ and _eXistenZ_. In the latter he spoke Hungarian.