Ian Holm, known for roles in Lord of the Rings trilogy, Chariots of Fire, passes away aged 88

Veteran British actor Ian Holm, known for his performances in films like Lord of the Rings and Alien has passed away He was 88 years old. Holm’s agent told The Guardian that he died peacefully in hospital surrounded by his family and carer after suffering from Parkinson’s related illness. Holm won a BAFTA and was nominated for an Oscar for portraying pioneering athletics coach Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire. He famously played the role of Bilbo Baggins in the Lord Of The Rings and the Hobbit trilogies. He is also remembered for playing the android Ash in Ridley Scott’s Alien. [caption id=“attachment_8504551” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Ian Holm. Image from Twitter[/caption] His other movie roles included Father Cornelius in The Fifth Element, a smooth-talking lawyer in The Sweet Hereafter, Napoleon Bonaparte in Time Bandits, writer Lewis Carroll in Dreamchild and a royal physician in The Madness of King George. writes The Associated Press. He was also a charismatic theatre actor who won a Tony Award for best featured actor as Lenny in Harold Pinter’s play The Homecoming in 1967.

He was a longtime member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, though a bout of debilitating stage fright that struck during a production of The Iceman Cometh in 1976 kept him off the stage for many years.

Holm was born on 12 September, 1931, in Essex and knew from the age of seven that he wanted to be an actor after being inspired by watching _Les Miserable_s. He went on to make his television debut with the 1965 show Richard III on the BBC’s The Wars of the Roses and four years later won his first BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor in The Bofors Gun.

He was awarded a CBE in 1989 and knighted for his services to drama in 1998.