Wonderful actor and Oscar nominee Bob Hoskins has passed away at 71. He was nominated for, and won, many awards:
Los Angeles Film Critics
National Society of Film Critics
Los Angeles Film Critics
Golden Globes
Cannes Film Fest
Boston
Kansas City
The Oscar, however, went to long overdue Paul Newman for The Color of Money. That’s a hard one to argue with considering Newman should have won years prior for his long and brilliant career. But still, Hoskins was one of the greats.
It’s a really sad feeling, especially after having watch Roger Rabbit a few days before Mr. Hoskins passing. I saw Mona Lisa for the first time about a year ago, and he deserved the nomination that year. A great performance.
R.I.P. Bob
Mona Lisa.
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R.I.P.
He gave a wonderfully touching (and very complex) performance in a little seen 1988 film as an American financier in Ireland called “The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne” with Maggie Smith. Their scenes together contain sublime acting. I always thought they should have Oscars on their mantles for this film.
Hoskins was so funny in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”. (Aside, it just bugs me that the title doesn’t contain a question mark?) Hoskins said that it was his most difficult acting experience (i.e., having to respond emotionally to a a blue screen where the cartoon characters were filled in later).
A lot of great actors don’t have an Oscar.
A lot of not great actor have an Oscar.
It doesn’t need one to be remembered as great.
And Hoskins was great in everything I’ve seen, even in “guilty pleasures” like Hook and Super Mario Bros., although he hated the latter.
He’ll be missed…
RIP Bob!
Mrs. Henderson Presents! Rest in Peace Mr. Hoskins….
Russell Crowe’s directorial debut The Water Diviner’s featurette is out…
loved his performances. the only regret is that he didn’t get more great roles. but then, who does?
“Pennies from Heaven” is one of THE great performances. Its touching and complex and uncomfortable all at once. The scene where he gets his wife to put lipstick on her nipples, cries about how he wishes he could play piano, sings ” My baby says yes yes”, etc. I mean how do you have a performance where the character says something kinky and crude to a blind girl like a common pervert and STILL be a completely lovable, if flawed, character? I haven’t watched it in a while but will again soon.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a movie with Hoskins (too long), but like Robin Write said – the voice still resonates in my head. It is simply unforgettable. Just a glimpse at the man’s face and I already hear him speak (or more like shout… at a cartoon rabbit).
Many times it happens that, when a great artist dies, people say “too bad he’ll be remembered for only such and such, when he did a lot more than that”. But for me, when it comes to Hoskins, I’m pretty damn glad I’m remember him for many movies, but most importantly for “Who framed Roger Rabbit?”. Say what you want, but it’s a brilliant movie and Hoskins channels Bogard and Nicholson so perfectly, that I can honestly say that he’s the last one to play the TRUE noir private eye. All that came after didn’t quite make it fly.
The Long Good Friday is a gem and showed Hoskins at his best.
One (of many from that film) of my favourite movies quotes:
Pool Attendant: They kept it all incognito. They’re gonna collect the body in an ice cream van.
Harold (Hoskins in his best cockney): There’s a lot of dignity in that, isn’t there? Going out like a raspberry ripple.
Bob Hoskins was the acting equivalent of raspberry ripple – always a delight.
Yes – I second checking out The Long Good Friday. Perfection.
The way the news was presented on other sites first led me to believe Roger Rabbit had died, which had me in tears. Sending all my love and prayers to his bereaved family and friends, especially Roger, who must be devastated right now.
He literally won every single acting award for MONA LISA except the Academy Award. Obviously they gave it to Newman as essentially a career achievement. I won’t argue that since Newman is my all-time favorite actor. However Hoskins was great in MONA LISA. And for those of you who haven’t seen THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY you should absolutely run and check it out. You are in for a treat. One of the greatest gangster movies ever made and arguably – in my opinion – the best British crime film of all-time. A towering performance by Hoskins in the film (a brilliant Helen Mirren too at her sexiest too). Soundtrack is amazing as well.
One of my favorite performances of his was in Unleashed, a highly underrated movie. His role was a well-drawn villain.
“Like my saint of a mum used to say, ‘Get ’em while they’re young. The possibilities are endless.'”
Mona Lisa and the Rabbit movie…that’s what I remember. Wonderful actor/comedian.
What happened to the actress in Mona Lisa?
As well as his vivid movie career, a few years back {and for a long, long time} he was also the voice of our national telephone company with the slogan “It’s good to talk.” – and that Cockney voice still resonates in the British psyche. Very sad news indeed.
Mona Lisa, Long Good Friday, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit as his best performances in my opinion. I’ll be listening to “In Too Deep” on the way home.