Ray Stevenson – RRR, Thor and Star Wars actor – dies aged 58

Ray Stevenson, the Northern Irish histrion who played the villainous British politician successful RRR, Volstagg successful the Thor films and a main antagonist successful the upcoming Star Wars bid Ahsoka, has died aged 58.

Representatives for Stevenson said helium had died connected Sunday, 4 days earlier his birthday. The Italian paper La Repubblica reported helium had been hospitalised with a abrupt unwellness connected the land of Ischia, portion successful accumulation connected the movie Cassino successful Ischia.

Stevenson was calved successful Lisburn, Northern Ireland, successful 1964. His household moved to England erstwhile helium was eight. After attending the Bristol Old Vic theatre schoolhouse and years of moving successful British television, helium made his movie debut successful Paul Greengrass’s 1998 movie The Theory of Flight. In 2004 helium appeared successful Antoine Fuqua’s King Arthur arsenic a knight of the circular array and respective years aboriginal played the pb successful the pre-Disney Marvel adaptation Punisher: War Zone.

Though Punisher was not the best-reviewed film, helium had different sensation of Marvel successful the archetypal 3 Thor films, successful which helium played the Asgardian warrior Volstagg. Other salient movie roles included the Divergent trilogy, GI Joe: Retaliation and The Transporter: Refueled.

A looming beingness astatine 1.91m (six ft three) tall, Stevenson played his stock of soldiers past and present; helium erstwhile said successful an interview, “I conjecture I’m an aged warrior astatine heart.”

On the tiny surface helium was the roguish Titus Pullo successful the HBO bid Rome, a relation that truly got his vocation going successful the US and won him a SAG paper astatine the property of 44. The bid ran from 2005 to 2007.

“That was 1 of the large years of my life,” Stevenson said successful an interview. “It made maine beryllium down successful my ain tegument and say, conscionable bash the job. The job’s enough.”

In the Variety reappraisal of Rome, Brian Lowery wrote that “the imposing Stevenson surely stands retired arsenic a brawling, whoring and none-too-bright warrior — a unit of quality who, contempt his excesses, someway keeps landing connected his feet”.

He was Blackbeard successful the Starz bid Black Sails, Commander Jack Swinburne successful the German tv bid Das Boot and Othere connected Vikings.

Stevenson besides did dependable enactment successful Star Wars Rebels and The Clone Wars, arsenic Gar Saxon, and has a relation successful the upcoming Star Wars live-action bid Ahsoka, successful which helium plays the atrocious feline Baylan Skoll. The eight-episode play is expected connected Disney+ successful August.

In an interrogation with Backstage successful 2020, Stevenson said his acting idols were “the likes of Lee Marvin, Gene Hackman”.

“Never a atrocious performance, and brave and fearless wrong that calibre,” Stevenson said. “It was ne'er the young, blistery starring man; it was men who I could place with.”

Stevenson has 3 sons with the Italian anthropologist Elisabetta Caraccia, who helium met portion moving connected Rome.