Bob Hoskins(1942-2014)
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Bob Hoskins was described by the director John Mackenzie as "an actor from the British tradition but with an almost American approach, an instinctive approach to acting and knowing how to work with the camera". He was born on October 26, 1942, in Bury St.
Edmund's, Suffolk, where his mother was living after being evacuated as
a result of the heavy bombings. He is the son of Elsie Lillian
(Hopkins), a nursery school teacher and cook, and Robert William
Hoskins, Sr., who drove a lorry and worked as a bookkeeper. Growing up,
Hoskins received only limited education and he left school at 15, but
with a passion for language and literature instilled by his former
English teacher.
A regular theatre-goer, Hoskins dreamed of starring on
stage, but before he could do so he had to work odd jobs for a long
time to make ends meet. His acting career started out more by accident
than by design, when he accompanied a friend to watch some auditions,
only to be confused for one of the people auditioning, getting a script
pushed into his hands with the message "You're next". He got the part
and acquired an agent. After some stage success, he expanded to
television with roles in television series such as
Villains (1972) and
Thick as Thieves (1974). In
the
mid-'70s, he
started his film career, standing out when he performed alongside
Richard Dreyfuss
in John Byrum's
Inserts (1975) and in a smaller part in
Richard Lester's
Royal Flash (1975).
Hoskins broke through in 1978 in
Dennis Potter's mini TV series,
Pennies from Heaven (1978),
playing "Arthur Parker", the doomed salesman. After this, a string of
high-profile and successful films followed, starting with his true
major movie debut in 1980's
The Long Good Friday (1980)
as the ultimately doomed "Harold Shand". This was followed by such
works as The Cotton Club (1984),
Mona Lisa (1986), which won him an
Oscar nomination as well as a BAFTA award, Cannes Film Festival and
Golden Globe),
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
(Golden Globe nomination),
Mermaids (1990),
Hook (1991),
Nixon (1995),
Felicia's Journey (1999) and
Enemy at the Gates (2001).
Hoskins always carefully balanced the riches of Hollywood with the
labor of independent film, though leaned more towards the latter than
the former. He worked at smaller projects such as
Shane Meadows' debut
TwentyFourSeven (1997),
in which he starred as "Allen Darcy". Besides this, he found time to
direct, write and star in
The Raggedy Rawney (1988), as
well as direct and star in
Rainbow (1995), and contributing to HBO's
Tales from the Crypt (1989)
and Tube Tales (1999).
Suffering from Parkinson's disease in later years, Hoskins died of
pneumonia at age 71 in a London hospital.
Edmund's, Suffolk, where his mother was living after being evacuated as
a result of the heavy bombings. He is the son of Elsie Lillian
(Hopkins), a nursery school teacher and cook, and Robert William
Hoskins, Sr., who drove a lorry and worked as a bookkeeper. Growing up,
Hoskins received only limited education and he left school at 15, but
with a passion for language and literature instilled by his former
English teacher.
A regular theatre-goer, Hoskins dreamed of starring on
stage, but before he could do so he had to work odd jobs for a long
time to make ends meet. His acting career started out more by accident
than by design, when he accompanied a friend to watch some auditions,
only to be confused for one of the people auditioning, getting a script
pushed into his hands with the message "You're next". He got the part
and acquired an agent. After some stage success, he expanded to
television with roles in television series such as
Villains (1972) and
Thick as Thieves (1974). In
the
mid-'70s, he
started his film career, standing out when he performed alongside
Richard Dreyfuss
in John Byrum's
Inserts (1975) and in a smaller part in
Richard Lester's
Royal Flash (1975).
Hoskins broke through in 1978 in
Dennis Potter's mini TV series,
Pennies from Heaven (1978),
playing "Arthur Parker", the doomed salesman. After this, a string of
high-profile and successful films followed, starting with his true
major movie debut in 1980's
The Long Good Friday (1980)
as the ultimately doomed "Harold Shand". This was followed by such
works as The Cotton Club (1984),
Mona Lisa (1986), which won him an
Oscar nomination as well as a BAFTA award, Cannes Film Festival and
Golden Globe),
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
(Golden Globe nomination),
Mermaids (1990),
Hook (1991),
Nixon (1995),
Felicia's Journey (1999) and
Enemy at the Gates (2001).
Hoskins always carefully balanced the riches of Hollywood with the
labor of independent film, though leaned more towards the latter than
the former. He worked at smaller projects such as
Shane Meadows' debut
TwentyFourSeven (1997),
in which he starred as "Allen Darcy". Besides this, he found time to
direct, write and star in
The Raggedy Rawney (1988), as
well as direct and star in
Rainbow (1995), and contributing to HBO's
Tales from the Crypt (1989)
and Tube Tales (1999).
Suffering from Parkinson's disease in later years, Hoskins died of
pneumonia at age 71 in a London hospital.