Pete Postlethwaite

Peter William "Pete" Postlethwaite, OBE (ˈpɒsəlθweɪt; 7 February 1946 – 2 January 2011) was an English character actor, best known for acting in In the Name of the Father (1993), The Usual Suspects (1995), Romeo + Juliet (1996), Brassed Off (1996), The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), The Constant Gardener (2005), Clash of the Titans (2010) and Inception (2010). After minor television appearances, including in The Professionals, his first major success arose through the British autobiographical film Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988). He had a transatlantic breakthrough when he portrayed David in Alien 3 (1992), and his reputation was further solidified when he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for In the Name of the Father. Following this role, he portrayed the mysterious lawyer, Mr. Kobayashi, in The Usual Suspects and went on to appear in a wide variety of films. In television, Postlethwaite played Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill on Sharpe. He trained as a teacher and taught drama before training as an actor. Director Steven Spielberg called him "the best actor in the world" after working with him on The Lost World: Jurassic Park. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2004 New Year Honours list. Less than one month after his death from pancreatic cancer, he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Ben Affleck's The Town (2010).