Romeo + Juliet
People.com and other news outlets are reporting that British actor Pete Postlethwaite died Sunday from cancer.
IMDB lists his final film as Killing Bono, a comedy scheduled for an April release. His contributions to 2010 include Inception and Clash of the Titans. I have yet to see either, but I have thoroughly enjoyed Postlethwaite’s performances in other films.
Dragonheart
I think I first saw him in 1996’s Dragonheart as the aspiring poet and monk Gilbert of Glockenspur. He is eager to chronicle Bowen’s adventures, but his unwillingness to harm tends to complicate his role in battle. His distinctive voice is heard at the finale of the film against Randy Edelman’s soaring score :
And in the days following Draco’s sacrifice, Bowen and Kara led the people in a time of justice and brotherhood. As I remember it now, those were golden years warmed by an unworldly light. And when things became the most difficult, Draco’s star shown more brightly for all of us who knew where to look.
Next, I saw him in Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet as Father Laurence who unintentionally sets the star-crossed lovers on their path to destruction. I thought him brilliant in the role, blending authority with compassion when talking to the troubled teens.
He also appeared in two of Steven Spielberg’s films: Jurassic Park: The Lost World and Amistad. As far as Spielberg films go, these were rather unremarkable, but I think the fact that Spielberg cast him in not one but two films speaks volumes of his talent. The director also reportedly called Postlethwaite “the best actor in the world.”
The Lost World
And, if Spielberg’s opinion doesn’t count (though I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t), then his work was also appreciated by members of the Academy when he was nominated for an Oscar in 1994 for In the Name of the Father.
Postlethwaite was 64.