17 Actors Whose Final Film Was A Fitting End To A Long And Impressive Career
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Recently, Reddit user xwhy posed the question, "Whose final film was a fitting end to a long career?," to the fine folks of r/movies. And, unsurprisingly, their responses were quite emotional and heartfelt. Here's what they said...
Note: People excluded any voice work and stuck with last on-screen roles.
1.Desmond Llewelyn as Q in The World is Not Enough (1999).
Llewelyn — who had many uncredited roles before taking over the part of Q in the second Bond film, From Russia with Love — died on Dec. 19, 1999 after a car accident. The World is Not Enough had premiered just one month before.
Watch Llweywen in his final role (and scene 🥲) as Q in The World is Not Enough here:
2.Fred Gwynne as Judge Chamberlain Haller in My Cousin Vinny (1992).
"Fred Gwynne was pretty great in My Cousin Vinny."
"He was. That whole movie was great and was cast perfectly. Watched it again recently and it's still so enjoyable."
Gwynne — who famously played the role of Herman Munster in The Munsters earlier in his career — died of complications from pancreatic cancer on July 2, 1993, roughly one year after My Cousin Vinny's release.
Watch Gwynne in his final role as Judge Chamberlain Haller in My Cousin Vinny here:
3.Robin Williams as Theodore Roosevelt in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014)
Williams — who famously broke out with Mork & Mindy and had a beloved career that spanned nearly 40 years with on Oscar win for his role in Good Will Hunting — died on Aug. 11, 2014, by suicide. He was later diagnosed with Lewy body dementia following an autopsy on his brain.
Watch Robin Williams in his final on-screen role (and scene 🥲) as Theodore Roosevelt in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb here:
4.Paul Newman as John Rooney in Road to Perdition (2002).
"I know he had a voice role after, but Paul Newman in Road To Perdition, his last live-action film, is brilliant."
"Apparently, he actually had a great time doing Cars, and told racing stories and shared details with everyone."
Newman — who had a long and storied film career for over 50 years, with six Oscar nominations and a win for The Color of Money — died on Sept. 26, 2008 from cancer.
Watch Paul Newman in his final on-screen role as John Rooney in Road to Perdition here:
5.Peter Finch as Howard Beale in Network (1976).
"He won an Oscar after he died for this part! I looked him up and he was pretty young 60 or 61! Great movie, talk about a movie predicting the future!"
"Just like most great dystopian films, its message is still misunderstood."
Finch — who, as mentioned above, died just two months before the 49th Academy Awards — became the first person to win a posthumous Oscar in an acting category for his role in Network. He died on Jan. 14, 1977, from a heart attack.
Watch Peter Finch in his final role as Howard Beale in Network here:
6.Burt Lancaster as Dr. Archibald "Moonlight" Graham in Field of Dreams (1989).
"Burt Lancaster walked into a field of corn and off to heaven as Moonlight Graham in Field of Dreams."
Lancaster — who was nominated for four Oscars (and won for Elmer Gantry) and was also well-known for classic films like From Here to Eternity and The Rainmaker — died on Oct. 20, 1994 of a heart attack, five years after Field of Dreams was released.
Watch Burt Lancaster in his final role as Dr. Archibald "Moonlight" Graham in Field of Dreams here:
7.Ethel Merman as Lieutenant Hurwitz in Airplane! (1980)
"I love that she played a soldier who went 'crazy' and thought he was Ethel Merman."
—xwhy
Merman — who was well-known for her leading roles in musical comedies on Broadway like Anything Goes, Annie Get Your Gun, Gypsy, and Hello, Dolly! — died on Feb. 15, 1984, from a brain tumor.
Watch Ethel Merman in her final role as Lieutenant Hurwitz in Airplane! here:
8.John Cazale as Stanley in The Deer Hunter (1978).
"You know, in terms of consistent quality, John Cazale is the greatest American actor to ever live. This is of course a bit tongue in cheek, but look at this filmography:
The Godfather — won best picture
The Godfather Part II — won best picture
The Conversation — nominated for best picture
Dog Day Afternoon — nominated for best picture
The Deer Hunter — won best picture
Here’s the thing: those were the only five films he was ever in."
"It's completely bonkers. Every actor dreams of being in a film as good as any of the ones on that list. The vast majority of actors never come close to fulfilling that dream. He did it five times... and that was it.
Such a strange anomaly of a career. And such a tragic loss for film. If he'd survived cancer, I have very little doubt he would've gone down as one of the true greats of cinema."
Cazale — who, as mentioned above, had a short, but incredible acting career that lasted just seven years — died on March 13, 1978 from lung cancer. Despite a terminal diagnosis, Cazale chose to continue working with his final role in The Deer Hunter, alongside his romantic partner Meryl Streep and other longtime friends like Robert DeNiro.
Watch John Cazale in his final role as Stanley in The Deer Hunter here:
9.Raul Julia as General M. Bison in Street Fighter (1994).
"Especially since (from what I've read) he did it for his kids."
"IIRC, Julia took the role because his kids loved the Street Fighter game, and he wanted to make a movie they would enjoy; and also because it was a relatively high-paid role, and he wanted to leave his family as financially secure as possible."
Julia — widely considered to be one of the best actors who never received an Oscar nomination and well-loved for his role in films like The Addams Family — died on Oct. 24, 1994, from complications of a stroke. He had been diagnosed with stomach cancer three years earlier.
Watch Raul Julia in his final role as General M. Bison in Street Fighter here:
10.Oliver Reed as Antonius Proximo in Gladiator (2000).
”Shadows and Dust.”
"The moment when he reveals that he too once was a gladiator must be my favorite scene ever. That trembling voice and eyes, what an actor."
Reed — a popular leading man in the '60s and '70s with starring roles in films like Oliver! and Women in Love — died on May 2, 1999, from a heart attack in Malta while still working on Gladiator.
Watch Oliver Reed in his final role as Antonius Proximo in Gladiator here:
11.Albert Finney as Kincade, the Skyfall estate's gamekeeper in Skyfall (2012).
"Welcome to Scotland."
Finney — who was nominated for an Oscar five times for films like Tom Jones and Erin Brockovich — disclosed in 2011 that he'd been receiving treatment for kidney cancer. He died on Feb. 7, 2019, of a chest infection.
Watch Albert Finney in his final role as Kincade in Skyfall here:
12.Harry Dean Stanton as "Lucky" in Lucky (2017).
"Technically, there was one more posthumous release (but it was really bad and his role was really small, so let's just remember Lucky). He got to act with David Lynch in Lucky! Really strong (almost) last movie to a very long career. He knew it was his final movie and died the next year."
"Yes. This is the best example, IMO. What an incredible performance."
"I became a huge Harry Dean Stanton fan because of The Missouri Breaks from 1976. It starred Brando and Nicholson, but Harry Dean was the walkaway best actor in the film. At one point he delivers a soliloquy about his childhood, and it’s one of the best scenes I’ve ever seen."
Stanton — who frequently collaborated with David Lynch and had a career that spanned more than six decades with roles in iconic films like Cool Hand Luke, The Godfather Part II, Alien, and Pretty in Pink to name a few — died on Sept. 15, 2017 from heart failure.
Watch Harry Dean Stanton in his final role as "Lucky" in Lucky here:
13.Diana Rigg as Ms. Collins in Last Night in Soho (2021).
Rigg — who many of you will know from her iconic role as Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones — had a brilliant career spanning five decades including her role as Emma Peel in The Avengers TV series and as Teresa di Vicenzo, the only woman to ever marry James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Rigg died on Sept. 10, 2020 from cancer.
Watch Diana Rigg in her final role as Ms. Collins in Last Night in Soho here (fair warning, big spoiler ahead):
14.Edward G. Robinson as Solomon Roth in Soylent Green (1973).
"His last scene with Charlton Heston-they both knew he was dying of cancer and the real emotion that comes out of that scene chokes me up."
"That scene has impacted my whole life! The beauty and sadness of it is astonishing. If you discount the 'soylent green is people' aspect of the story, the dystopia they show is the most relevant and believable until Children of Men came along."
Robinson — who was a popular star during the golden age of Hollywood and appeared in over 100 films — died on Jan. 26, 1973 from bladder cancer, just two months after completing the film.
Watch Edward G. Robinson in his final role as Solomon Roth in Soylent Green here:
15.Pete Postlethwaite as Fergus "Fergie" Colm in The Town (2010).
"And Inception that year too. That final moment with him and his son at the end gets me every time."
"The man Spielberg called 'the best actor in the world.'"
Postlewaith — who starred in numerous big hits like Alien 3, The Usual Suspects, Romeo + Juliet, and earned an Oscar nom for In the Name of the Father — died on Jan. 2, 2011, from pancreatic cancer. He was posthumously nominated for a Bafta for his role in The Town.
Watch Pete Postlethwaite in his final role as Fergus "Fergie" Colm in The Town here:
16.Jason Robards as Earl Partridge in Magnolia (1999).
"On his actual deathbed."
"Fantastic film. Best use of a song in a film as well. 'Wise Up' by Aimee Mann."
Robards — who was one of only 24 performers to earn the "triple crown of acting," i.e. Oscar, Emmy, Tony — died on Dec. 26, 2000, from lung cancer. Robards, who played a man dying of cancer in Magnolia, had actually come out of a coma and "off his own sickbed" for the part.
Watch Jason Robards in his final role as Earl Partridge in Magnolia here:
17.Finally, Chris Farley as Jimmy "No-Nose" in Dirty Work (1998).
"I wouldn’t call it a long career, but Chris Farley driving away while screaming at a sex worker in Dirty Work is the most fitting end that comes to mind."
Farley — who quickly rose to fame on Saturday Night Live before launching a celebrated comedic film career — died on Dec. 18, 1997, of an overdose of cocaine and morphine. Dirty Work was released the following year in June 1998.
