I’m not sure how most people came to be familiar with the work of Pete Postlethwaite, but for me it was his performance as Kobayashi in Bryan Singer’s The Usual Suspects. Of course, his work extends far beyond the small role in Singer’s film including David Fincher’s Alien3, Michael Mann’s The Last of the Mohicans, Steven Spielberg’s Amistad and Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet.
Even this past year he played roles in Louis Letterrier’s Clash of the Titans, Ben Affleck’s The Town and Christopher Nolan’s Inception. Outside of all the films mentioned above, Postlethwaite was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Jim Sheridan’s In the Name of the Father.
He didn’t traditionally have the largest of roles, but he always put his stamp on a performance so it is with regret I have to tell you Postlethwaite passed away on Sunday in Shropshire, England due to complications from cancer at the age of 64. The news was confirmed this morning by a spokesman for the late actor saying, “He had been unwell off and on for around two years and not worked as frequently as normal during the past year because of the cancer and its side effects,” the spokesman said.
I don’t think I’m alone when I say his contributions will be missed.
