Tom Wilkinson Dies: Two-Time Oscar Nominated Actor In ‘Michael Clayton’ And ‘In The Bedroom’, Played Gerald In ‘The Full Monty’, Was 75

Bruce Haring
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British actor Tom Wilkinson, who won a Bafta for his work in The Full Monty and was Oscar-nominated for Michael Clayton and In The Bedroom, has died at 75 on Saturday. No cause was given.

“It is with great sadness that the family of Tom Wilkinson announce that he died suddenly at home on December 30,” said a statement from his agent. “His wife and family were with him. The family asks for privacy at this time.”

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He also starred in 1998’s Shakespeare in Love, Christopher Nolan’s 2005 Batman Begins, and 2011 thriller Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

He was also in the Disney+ streaming series of The Full Monty, reprising his role as factory foreman Gerald Cooper.

His film resume includes The Grand Budapest Hotel and Girl with a Pearl Earring among more than 130 film and TV credits.

He also won an Emmy for playing Benjamin Franklin in 2008 mini-series John Adams and an Emmy nomination as John F Kennedy’s father Joe in The Kennedys. He also played President Lyndon B Johnson in 2014’s Selma.

Born in Leeds, Wilkinson was 18 when he was asked to direct a play. That began a career that saw him move on to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada). In 1986, he got his first major screen role in mini-series First Among Equals, based on Jeffrey Archer’s best-selling novel. This was a break in more than one way – he met Diana Hardcastle, and the couple married in 1988. They played husband and wife in The Kennedys in 2011, and in 2014 action film Good People.

Being cast in the low-budget movie The Full Monty turned into a career highlight, as the film became the highest-grossing British pic up to that point.

Wilkinson received a nomination for Best Actor for Todd Field’s 2001 U.S. domestic drama In the Bedroom, in which he played a bereaved father.

He earned his second Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in Tony Gilroy’s 2007 legal thriller Michael Clayton, starring George Clooney.

Wilkinson’s other film credits included Batman Begins, The Patriot, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Gathering Storm, Black Knight, Valkyrie, The Lone Ranger and Denial.

He also provided the voice of the fox in the TV adaptation of children’s best-seller, The Gruffalo.

Wilkinson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama in 2005.

George Clooney remembered his friend in a statement. “Tom made every project better. Made every actor better. He was the epitome of elegance and he will be dearly missed by all of us.”

Survivors include his wife, actress Diana Hardcastle, and their two daughters Alice and Mollie.

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