Poor Ian Holm died today.

I feel like he was one of the first actors I ever looked upto.

Please forgive me while I have a little trip down memory lane.

The first time I remember loving him was in The Borrowers. It was a staple at our house and was on all the time.

I then remember him distinctly in 'Loch Ness'

That's right, you'd all forgotten that Ted Danson masterpiece.

Brilliant in it. I remember him on the train trying to convince our Ted to NOT reveal the secret of the Loch Ness monster.

Then of course Bilbo.

My Bilbo.

The Fellowship of The Ring means a lot to me.

But his performance as Bilbo shone out.

A truly magical performance of a Hobbit whos lived many adventures....

Not long after LOTR I then saw him in Garden State.

His brittleness and sadness echo through that film and through Zach Braffs performance.

It's a heartbreaking little film that was rather bashed at the time by critics and the public

I loved it at the time and still do.

Then I went back in time to Brazil.

Introduced to the wonderful world of Terry Gilliam by a friend, once again, surrounded by Michael Palin and Robert Di Niro, Holm stands out as Jonathan Pryce's Boss.

Then a biggie.

Alien.

His twisted Ash was such a menace. Such a slick wonderful disturbing creature.

And yet still imbued all that warmth and honesty he always had in to it.

Finally

The Madness Of King George

I hadn't seen it.
(even though I had a version on disc that came free in a newspaper years ago)

I watched it in prep for an audition for the play version very recently.

My lord. Just bringing a unparalleled brilliance to every word.

Anyway that's the order I discovered him

Sorry for the thread. But if you're a young actor with no idea about Ian Holm apart from Lord of The Rings, then get on IMDB & look up any of his work

It's such a thrill to go back & discover these heros

Sleep well Ian Holm

x