With his training at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Tom Wilkinson was destined for the big stages in London. But he celebrated his screen breakthrough with the stripper comedy All or Not at All (1997), in which a group of unemployed people emulate the Chippendales. This was also an expression of the Yorkshire-born actor’s versatility. Now Tom Wilkinson has died at the age of 75, the BBC reports.
Tom Wilkinson received his first Oscar nomination for In the Bedroom
Wilkinson, born in 1948, turned increasingly to large film and television productions after the surprise success of All or Not at All. He played the evil ambassador in the action comedy Rush Hour with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker before taking on one of his major leading roles in In the Bedroom.
In Todd Field’s 2001 family drama, Wilkinson impresses alongside Sissy Spacek. He plays one in it Father unhinged by his son’s violent death. Wilkinson received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his performance.
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Tom Wilkinson
After that, Wilkinson became a welcome face in front of the camera. In Michel Gondry’s science fiction film Forget Me Not! (2004), he directed the procedure that is supposed to erase Jim Carrey’s memory, as DC villain Carmine Falcone, Wilkinson appeared two years later in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins (2006).
Years later, Wilkinson returned to the role that made him famous
Wilkinson received his second Oscar nomination for the thriller Michael Clayton (2007) by Tony Gilroy (Andor). As lawyer Arthur Edens, he suffers a nervous breakdown in court. This calls out problem solver and friend Michael Clayton (George Clooney), who discovers too late that there is much more behind Arthur’s erratic behavior.
Wilkinson was a master at Playing men whose controlled façade crumbles under the pressure of grief, shame or other shocks. In All or Nothing he played an unemployed man who continues to pretend to his family that he still has his job. His grieving father figure in In the Bedroom, on the other hand, maintains his composure with all his might until he runs out of strength.
From comic book villains to Benjamin Frankin (in John Adams) and US President Lyndon B. Johnson (Selma), Tom Wilkinson has played just about everything a casting agent could think of in his career. In the 2010s he appeared in the comedy Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, he played the author in Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel and was part of the ensemble of Oliver Stone’s Snowden.
Tom Wilkinson was last seen again in the role that brought him to a larger audience in 1997: in the sequel All or Not at All: The Series, which premiered in Germany on Disney+.
Tom Wilkinson died on December 30 at the age of 75, his family announced