‘Titanic’ actor David Warner dies (PHOTOS)

• Titanic actor David Warner has died.
• How did the beloved actor die.

BREAKING NEWS: David Warner, a versatile British actor whose roles have ranged from Shakespearean tragedies to sci-fi cult classics, has died. The actor is widely remembered for his role in the iconic movie Titanic, one of the highest grossing films in history.

Often cast as a villain, Warner appeared in the 1971 psychological thriller Straw Dogs, the 1976 horror classic The Omen, and the 1979 time travel adventure Time After Time, the AP reported.

How did beloved actor David Warner die?

In addition, David Warner is well remembered for the 1997 blockbuster Titanic, in which he played the evil assistant Spicer Lovejoy. Warner died of a cancer-related illness on Sunday at Denville Hall, a retirement home for artists in London, his family said. He was 80 years old, according to The Associated Press.

Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, Warner became a young star with the Royal Shakespeare Company in roles such as King Henry VI and King Richard II. His performance as Hamlet for the company in 1965, directed by Peter Hall, was considered one of the best of his generation.

How did Warner become famous?

Gregor Doran, artistic director emeritus of the RSC, said Warner’s Hamlet, played as a tortured student, «seemed like the epitome of 1960s youth and captured the radical spirit of a turbulent era.» Warner also starred in Hall’s 1968 film A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Helen Mirren and Diana Rigg.

Despite being an acclaimed stage actor, chronic stage fright led Warner to prefer film and television for many years. He was nominated for a BAFTA award of British cinema for the leading role in Karel Reisz Swinging London’s tragicomedy Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment, released in 1966.

What movies did David Warner appear in?

He later won an Emmy for his role as the Roman politician Pomponius Falco in the 1981 television miniseries Masada. His screen career was prolific in both Britain and the United States, and he became a sci-fi fan favorite for his roles in Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits, the film about computers Tron, the Tim Burton version of Planet of the Apes and the Star Trek franchise, where he made several appearances in different roles.

Warner returned to the stage in 2001 after nearly three decades to star as Andrew Undershaft in a Broadway revival of George Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara. In 2005 he starred in Shakespeare’s King Lear at the Chichester Theater Festival, and in 2007 he returned to the RSC to play Shakespeare’s comic jester, Falstaff.

“We are heartbroken”

One of his last film roles was as retired naval officer Admiral Boom in 2018’s Mary Poppins Returns. Warner’s family said they will remember him «as a man, partner and father, who was kind, generous and compassionate and whose legacy of extraordinary work has touched the lives of so many over the years.”

“We are heartbroken,” the family said. They added that Warner leaves behind his partner, Lisa Bowerman, his son Luke, daughter-in-law Sarah, as well as «his good friend Jane Spencer Prior, his first wife Harriet Evans and their many pure gold friends,» according to The Associated Press. Filed Under: Titanic Actor David Warner Dies