Ian Holm

Actors

Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert CBE (September 12, 1931 – June 19, 2020), known as Ian Holm, was an English actor on stage and in film. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear. He won the 1981 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as athletics trainer Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire, for which he was also nominated for an Academy Award.

His other well-known film roles include Ash in Ridley Scott‘s Alien (1979), with Sigourney Weaver and John Hurt; Mr. Kurtzman in Terry Gilliam‘s Brazil (1985), with Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, Michael Palin, and Bob Hoskins; Ken Post in Woody Allen‘ Another Woman (1988), with Mia Farrow and Gena Rowlands; Tom Frost in David Cronenberg‘s Naked Lunch, with Peter Weller, Judy Davis, and Roy Scheider; Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994), with Kenneth Branagh (who also directed), De Niro, Tom Hulce, Helena Bonham Carter, John Cleese, and Aidan Quinn; Father Vito Cornelius in Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element (1997), with Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, and Chris Tucker; the voice of Chef Skinner in Ratatouille (2007), Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson‘s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series, with Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, and Sean Bean; and Professor Fitz in Martin Scorsese‘s The Aviator (2004), with Leonardo DiCaprio, Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Gwen Stefani, Kelli Garner, Matt Ross, Willem Dafoe, Alan Alda, and Edward Herrmann.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

  • Robert’s Wife (1957) – TV movie
  • Girls at Sea (1958) – uncredited
  • A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1958) – TV movie
  • The Cherry Orchard (1962) – TV movie
  • The Bofors Gun (1968) – directed by Jack Gold
  • The Fixer (1968) – directed by John Frankenheimer
  • A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1968) – directed by Peter Hall
  • Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) – directed by Richard Attenborough
  • A Severed Head (1970) – directed by Dick Clement
  • Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) – directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
  • Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) – directed by Charles Jarrott
  • Young Winston (1972) – directed by Richard Attenborough
  • The Homecoming (1973) – directed by Peter Hall
  • Juggernaut (1974) – directed by Richard Lester
  • Robin and Marian (1976) – directed by Richard Lester
  • Shout at the Devil (1976) – directed by Peter R. Hunt
  • The Man in the Iron Mask (1977) – directed by Mike Newell – TV movie
  • Jesus of Nazareth (1977) – directed by Franco Zeffirelli – miniseries
  • March or Die (1977) – directed by Dick Richards
  • The Thief of Baghdad (1978) – directed by Clive Donner – TV movie
  • Les Miserables (1978) – directed by Glenn Jordan – TV movie
  • Alien (1979)** – directed by Ridley Scott
  • S.O.S. Titanic (1979) – directed by William Hale – TV movie
  • Festival: The Misanthrope (1980) – TV movie
  • Chariots of Fire (1981) – directed by Hugh Hudson
  • Time Bandits (1981) – directed by Terry Gilliam
  • Strike: The Birth of Solidarity (1981) – TV movie
  • Inside the Third Reich (1982) – directed by Marvin J. Chomsky – TV movie
  • The Return of the Soldier (1982) – directed by Alan Bridges
  • Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984) – directed by Hugh Hudson
  • Laughterhouse (aka Singleton’s Puck) (1984)
  • Brazil (1985) – directed by Terry Gilliam
  • Wetherby (1985) – directed by David Hare
  • Dance with a a Stranger (1985) – directed by Mike Newell
  • Dreamchild (1985) – directed by Gavin Millar
  • Mr. and Mrs. Edgehill (1985) – TV movie
  • The Browning Version (1985) – TV movie
  • Murder by the Book (1987) – TV movie
  • Another Woman (1988) – directed by Woody Allen
  • Henry V (1989) – directed by Kenneth Branagh
  • The Tailor of Gloucester (1989) – TV movie
  • A Season of Giants (1990) – TV movie
  • Hamlet (1990) – directed by Franco Zeffirelli
  • Kafka (1991) – directed by Steven Soderbergh
  • Naked Lunch (1991) – directed by David Cronenberg
  • Blue Ice (1992) – directed by Russell Mulcahy
  • Chillers (1992) – TV movie
  • The Hour of the Pig (1993) – directed by Leslie Megahey – aka The Advocate
  • Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994) – directed by Kenneth Branagh
  • The Madness of King George (1994) – directed by Nicholas Hytner
  • Little Red Riding Hood (1995) – TV movie
  • Big Night (1996) – directed by Campbell Scott & Stanley Tucci
  • Loch Ness (1996) – directed by Jon Henderson
  • Night Falls on Manhattan (1996) – directed by Sidney Lumet
  • The Fifth Element (1997)** – directed by Luc Besson
  • The Sweet Hereafter (1997) – directed by Atom Egoyan
  • A Life Less Ordinary (1997) – directed by Danny Boyle
  • Incognito (1997) – directed by John Badham – uncredited cameo
  • Alice Through the Looking Glass (1998) – directed by Jon Henderson – TV movie
  • King Lear (1998) – TV movie
  • Animal Farm (1999) – TV movie
  • eXistenZ (1999) – directed by David Cronenberg
  • Simon Magus (1999) – directed by Ben Hopkins
  • Shergar (1999)
  • The Match (1999) – directed by Mick Davis
  • Wisconsin Death Trip (1999) – directed by James Marsh
  • Joe Gould’s Secret (2000) – directed by Stanley Tucci
  • The Miracle Maker (2000) – directed by Derek Hayes & Stanislav Sokolov
  • The Holocaust on Trial (2000) – TV movie
  • Esther Kahn (2000) – directed by Arnaud Desplechin
  • Beautiful Joe (2000) – directed by Stephen Metcalfe
  • Bless the Child (2000) – directed by Chuck Russell
  • The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000) – directed by Gillies MacKinnon – TV movie
  • The Emperor’s New Clothes (2001) – directed by Alan Taylor
  • From Hell (2001) – directed by Albert & Allan Hughes
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)* – directed by Peter Jackson
  • Waterbaby (2002) – TV movie
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)* – directed by Peter Jackson
  • The Day After Tomorrow (2004) – directed by Roland Emmerich
  • Garden State (2004)* – directed by Zach Braff
  • Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real (2004) – TV movie
  • The Aviator (2004) – directed by Martin Scorsese
  • Strangers with Candy (2005) – directed by Paul Dinello
  • Chromophobia (2005) – directed by Martha Fiennes
  • Lord of War (2005) – directed by Andrew Niccol
  • Renaissance (2006) – directed by Christian Volckman – aka Paris 2054: Renaissance – France/UK
  • The Treatment (2006) – directed by Oren Rudavsky
  • O Jerusalem (2006) – directed by Elie Chouraqui
  • 1066: The Battle for Middle Earth (2009) – miniseries
  • Ratatouille (2007) – directed by Brad Bird
  • The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) – directed by Peter Jackson
  • The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) – directed by Peter Jackson