Sir Ian Holm

[Sylar]

Celebrity deaths don't normally get to me, but I was very saddened to read about the passing of Sir Ian Holm today.

One of those actors who excelled in every role he fulfilled. As a huge Lord of the Rings fan, I was delighted that Peter Jackson chose Holm from the off to play Bilbo Baggins - he captured the character perfectly, and brought to life one of my favourite literary characters.

He also starred in Chariots of Fire and Alien of course, but for me, he'll always be Bilbo or King Lear (I was very fortunate to see him perform this role on stage in London - he was exceptional).

[G15 Hibs]

I always think of him as Ash in Alien, especially the freaky bit when his head is off. He was also pretty excellent in the otherwise humdrum Jack the Ripper film 'From Hell'. Never thought of him as being as old as 88,but that's more me forgetting that time passes.

[hibsbollah]

First saw him in the 80s in Time Bandits as Napoleon, hilarious, and then in Terry Gilliams Brazil, I assumed he was one of those actors that were part of the Python circle. I had no idea of his theatre background until he popped up as Bilbo and I looked up his bio. Clearly a very talented actor.

[SuperAllyMcleod]

Celebrity deaths don't normally get to me, but I was very saddened to read about the passing of Sir Ian Holm today.

One of those actors who excelled in every role he fulfilled. As a huge Lord of the Rings fan, I was delighted that Peter Jackson chose Holm from the off to play Bilbo Baggins - he captured the character perfectly, and brought to life one of my favourite literary characters.

He also starred in Chariots of Fire and Alien of course, but for me, he'll always be Bilbo or King Lear (I was very fortunate to see him perform this role on stage in London - he was exceptional).

I thought one of his best performances was actually as Frodo in Lord of the Rings. The BBC did a wonderful 13 part radio dramatisation in 1983 or 1984 which also included Bill Nighy as Sam, Michael Horden as Gandalf and John Le Messurier as Bilbo.

It’s well worth a listen if you are a fan of LotR - great on a long car journey.