RIP Tom Wilkinson, From ‘The Full Monty’ And ‘In The Bedroom’

Probably best remembered as an actor from his role in ‘The Full Monty,’ actor Tom Wilkinson’s death was announced over the weekend.

He was 75.

AV Club reports:

Tom Wilkinson has died. A veteran actor of both stage and screen, Wilkinson might be best remembered for his co-starring role in 1997’s The Full Monty, which earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the BAFTAs. Other professional recognition included a pair of Oscar noms—for In The Bedroom in 2001 and Michael Clayton in 2007, and an Emmy win in 2008. Although his acting resumé was light on lead roles, it was absolutely stuffed with memorable character parts, and Wilkinson ultimately racked up more than 150 credits across TV and film. (Which doesn’t even get into his extensive stage work.) Per the BBC, Wilkinson’s death was announced by his family on Saturday. He was 75.

Born in the U.K. in 1948, Wilkinson spent part of his childhood in Canada before returning to England and pursuing acting. He got his start mainly in British TV, and on the stage, appearing in TV movies like Agatha Christie adaptation A Pocket Full Of Rye and the miniseries First Among Equals, a series Wilkinson later dubbed, in typically honest manner, “not very good”— even though it’s where he met Diana Hardcastle, his wife of 35 years.

Feeling a mild urge to, in his own words, “sit down with the big boys,” Wilkinson began to pursue films more regularly in the 1990s. Early roles included parts in Pride And Prejudice, The Ghost And The Darkness, and Antonia Bird’s Priest. But he rose to his first real stabs at international cinematic prominence with 1997’s The Full Monty, playing factory foreman-turned-male dancer Gerald. The film was a surprise hit in the U.S., and Wilkinson—who reprised the role for the 2023 TV sequel—came in for especial praise for his work, cutting his slightly austere, even dour presence with a gift for projecting joy.

The story added, “Besides his obvious talents for hopping across the Atlantic as needed, Wilkinson also had an incredible ability to project both warmth and malice in his screen roles, playing both into and against his unassuming profile.”

RIP to a legend.