He also earned plaudits for his work with Pinter, playing Lenny in the premiere production of The Homecoming (which won him a Tony award after its transfer to Broadway) and then in the 1973 film version, directed by Hall. Holm became a leading figure at the RSC, winning an Evening Standard best actor award for Henry V in 1965, part of the seminal Wars of the Roses cycle put together by Peter Hall and John Barton. Falling in love with acting at an early age, he went from Rada in London to the Shakespeare Memorial theatre in Stratford, staying on to become part of the Royal Shakespeare Company on its foundation in 1960. Holm was born in 1931 in Essex, where his father was superintendent of the West Ham Corporation psychiatric hospital he later described his childhood there as “a pretty idyllic existence”. Holm, who won a Bafta and was nominated for an Oscar for his role as maverick athletics coach Sam Mussabini in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, may have looked destined for a career in colourful supporting roles on screen – especially after quitting the theatre in 1976 after a severe case of stage fright – but he found a new generation of admirers after being cast as Bilbo Baggins in the blockbusting Lord of the Rings trilogy.Įarlier this month, he expressed his sadness that he was unable to participate in a virtual reunion for the films, saying: “I am sorry to not see you in person, I miss you all and hope your adventures have taken you to many places, I am in lockdown in my hobbit home, or holm.”
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