British actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company, he made a name for himself in movies and television as well. He received the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in The Homecoming and the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of King Lear. He won the 1981 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as athletics trainer Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire, for which he was also nominated for an Academy Award.
His other well-known film roles include Ash in Alien, Father Vito Cornelius in The Fifth Element, Chef Skinner in Ratatouille, and Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series. On stage he appeared with some of Britain’s other illustrious stars, including Kenneth Branagh.
He played Napoleon Bonaparte three times: first, in the 1972 television series Napoleon and Love; next, in a cameo comic rendition, in Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits (1981); third, in 2001 he played the fallen and exiled leader in the fanciful film The Emperor’s New Clothes.
Holm was married four times and had five children. In 1991 he married his third wife, Penelope Wilton, with whom he performed in the movie The Borrowers (1993). They divorced in 2001.
Holm was awarded a CBE in 1989 (Commander of the British Empire). In 1998 he was knighted.
He was treated for prostate cancer in 2001. He died in hospital in the morning of 19 June 2020 at the age of 88. He had been battling Parkinson’s disease for a number of years.
Link to Wikipedia biography