Actor
Ian Holm
Born 12 September 1931 · Goodmayes, Essex, England, UK — died 19 June 2020
Sir Ian Holm (1931–2020) was an English actor who rose through the Royal Shakespeare Company before building a long career in film and television. He was known for playing intense, precise and often unsettling characters, from the android Ash in Alien to Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's Middle-earth films.
Key films
Alien (1979)
As the science officer Ash, he created one of science-fiction cinema's most chilling twist reveals.
Chariots of Fire (1981)
His portrayal of athletics trainer Sam Mussabini brought an Oscar nomination and a BAFTA win.
Brazil (1985)
He played a nervous bureaucrat in Terry Gilliam's dystopian satire, a cult classic.
The Madness of King George (1994)
A prominent supporting role in a acclaimed period drama about George III's illness.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
As the elderly Bilbo Baggins, he reached a worldwide audience late in his career.
Key awards
- 1967 Tony Award, Best Featured Actor in a Play (The Homecoming)
- 1969 BAFTA Award, Best Supporting Actor (The Bofors Gun)
- 1982 BAFTA Award, Best Supporting Actor (Chariots of Fire)
- 1998 Laurence Olivier Award, Best Actor (King Lear)
On Cinespective
Full filmography · 135
- 1957Rope · as GranilloActor
- 1958Girls at Sea · as Marine (uncredited)Actor
- 1962The Cherry Orchard · as TrofimovActor
- 1963The Paradise Suite · as Jamie NortonActor
- 1965The Wars of the Roses · as King Richard IIIActor
- 1967Opus · as Lenny (The Homecoming)Actor
- 1968The Fixer · as GrubeshovActor
- 1968A Midsummer Night's Dream · as PuckActor
- 1968The Bofors Gun · as Gunner FlynnActor
- 1968Frankenstein · as Frankenstein / The MonsterActor
- 1969Oh! What a Lovely War · as President PoincareActor
- 1969Moonlight on the HighwayActor
- 1969Omri's Burning · as OmriActor
- 1969Edward the Confessor · as Edward GobeyActor
- 1970Emma's Time · as Mark LangActor
- 1970The Salesman · as SalesmanActor
- 1970The End of the Line · as Reverend P. BagleyActor
- 1971Nicholas and Alexandra · as YakovlevActor
- 1971Mary, Queen of Scots · as David RiccioActor
- 1971A Severed Head · as Martin Lynch-GibbonActor
- 1971Funny · as HuwActor
- 1972Young Winston · as George E. BuckleActor
- 1972The Treat · as GordonActor
- 1973The Homecoming · as LennyActor
- 1974Juggernaut · as Nicholas PorterActor
- 1974The Wood Demon · as KhrushchovActor
- 1974Only a Game · as NarratorActor
- 1974Children in Crossfire · as NarratorActor
- 1975Mr. Garrick and Mrs. Woffington · as Mr. GarrickActor
- 1976Robin and Marian · as King JohnActor
- 1976Shout at the Devil · as MohammedActor
- 1977March or Die · as El KrimActor
- 1977The Man in the Iron Mask · as DuvalActor
- 1977Ramsey · as Bill RamseyActor
- 1978Les Misérables · as ThénardierActor
- 1978The Thief of Baghdad · as The GatekeeperActor
- 1978The Lost Boys · as J.M. BarrieActor
- 1978Flayed · as The ManActor
- 1979Alien · as AshActor
- 1979All Quiet on the Western Front · as HimmelstossActor
- 1980S.O.S. Titanic · as J. Bruce IsmayActor
- 1980The Misanthrope · as AlcesteActor
- 1981Time Bandits · as NapoleonActor
- 1981Chariots of Fire · as Sam MussabiniActor
- 1981Strike: The Birth of Solidarity · as Lech WalesaActor
- 1982Soft Targets · as AlexeiActor
- 1983The Return of the Soldier · as Doctor AndersonActor
- 1983Bette Davis: The Benevolent Volcano · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 1984Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes · as Capitaine Phillippe D'ArnotActor
- 1984Laughterhouse · as Ben SingletonActor
- 1984The Cost of Treachery · as NarratorActor
- 1985Brazil · as Mr. KurtzmannActor
- 1985Dance with a Stranger · as Desmond CussenActor
- 1985Wetherby · as Stanley PilboroughActor
- 1985Dreamchild · as Reverend Charles L. Dodgson / Lewis CarrollActor
- 1985The Browning Version · as Andrew Crocker-HarrisActor
- 1985Mr. and Mrs. Edgehill · as Eustace EdgehillActor
- 1985Visions of Power · as NarratorActor
- 1986Murder by the Book · as Hercule PoirotActor
- 1986Cry From Home · as NarratorActor
- 1986The Fishing Party · as NarratorActor
- 1988Another Woman · as KenActor
- 1989Henry V · as Captain FluellenActor
- 1989The Endless Game · as ControlActor
- 1989The Tailor of Gloucester · as The TailorActor
- 1989The Kingdom of Fun · as NarratorActor
- 1990Hamlet · as PoloniusActor
- 1990A Season of Giants · as Lorenzo de' MediciActor
- 1991Naked Lunch · as Tom FrostActor
- 1991Kafka · as Dr. MurnauActor
- 1991Uncle Vanya · as AstrovActor
- 1991Bloody Sunday · as NarratorActor
- 1992Blue Ice · as Sir HectorActor
- 1992Elizabeth R: A Year in the Life of The Queen · as Self - Narrator (voice)Actor
- 1992The Last Romantics · as F.R. LeavisActor
- 1993The Hour of the Pig · as AlbertusActor
- 1993The Mysterious Career of Lee Harvey Oswald · as Narrator (voice) (UK version, Timewatch: The Mysterious Career of Lee Harvey Oswald)Actor
- 1993The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends: The Tailor of Gloucester · as The Tailor (voice)Actor
- 1994Mary Shelley's Frankenstein · as Baron FrankensteinActor
- 1994The Madness of King George · as WillisActor
- 1994The Deep Blue Sea · as Sir William CollyerActor
- 1994Mustang: The Hidden Kingdom · as (voice)Actor
- 1994Chappaquiddick · as NarratorActor
- 1995Landscape · as DuffActor
- 1995Little Red Riding Hood · as Don MiniActor
- 1995There Is a Light That Never Goes Out · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 1996Big Night · as PascalActor
- 1996Loch Ness · as Water BailiffActor
- 1996A Little Fish in Deep Water · as NarratorActor
- 1997The Fifth Element · as CorneliusActor
- 1997A Life Less Ordinary · as Mr. NavilleActor
- 1997The Sweet Hereafter · as Mitchell StephensActor
- 1997Night Falls on Manhattan · as Liam CaseyActor
- 1997Incognito · as John (uncredited)Actor
- 1998Alice Through the Looking Glass · as White KnightActor
- 1998King Lear · as King LearActor
- 1998Tale of the Tides · as NarratorActor
- 1999eXistenZ · as Kiri VinokurActor
- 1999Animal Farm · as Squealer (voice)Actor
- 1999Wisconsin Death Trip · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 1999The Match · as Big TamActor
- 1999Simon Magus · as Sirius / Boris / The DevilActor
- 1999Shergar · as Joseph MaguireActor
- 2000Bless the Child · as Reverend GrissomActor
- 2000The Miracle Maker · as Pontius Pilate (voice)Actor
- 2000Esther Kahn · as Nathan QuellenActor
- 2000Beautiful Joe · as George The GeekActor
- 2000Joe Gould's Secret · as Joe GouldActor
- 2000The Last of the Blonde Bombshells · as PatrickActor
- 2001The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring · as BilboActor
- 2001From Hell · as Sir William GullActor
- 2001The Emperor's New Clothes · as Napoleon Bonaparte / Sergeant Eugene LenormandActor
- 2002The Fellowship of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Cast · as SelfActor
- 2003The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King · as BilboActor
- 2003Prisoner of Paradise · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 2004The Day After Tomorrow · as Terry RapsonActor
- 2004The Aviator · as Professor FitzActor
- 2004Garden State · as Gideon LargemanActor
- 2004Dragon's World: A Fantasy Made Real · as NarratorActor
- 2004D-Day 6.6.1944 · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 2004A Filmmaker's Journey: Making 'The Return of the King' · as SelfActor
- 2005Lord of War · as Simeon WeiszActor
- 2005The Adventures of Errol Flynn · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 2005The Queen of Trees · as NarratorActor
- 2006Strangers with Candy · as Dr. PutneyActor
- 2006Chromophobia · as Edward AylesburyActor
- 2006O Jerusalem · as Ben GurionActor
- 2006The Making of 'The Return of the King' · as SelfActor
- 2007Ratatouille · as Skinner (voice)Actor
- 2007The Treatment · as Dr. Ernesto MoralesActor
- 2007The Real Middle Earth · as NarratorActor
- 2011Discovering Hamlet · as Polonius (archive footage)Actor
- 2012The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey · as Old Bilbo BagginsActor
- 2014The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies · as Old Bilbo BagginsActor
- 2024Alien: Romulus · as Rook (Facial and Vocal Reference)Actor
Filmography data from TMDB. The profile text is a draft written for Cinespective.