'Powerhouse' Actor Albert Finney Dead at 82

5-time Oscar nominee starred in 'Erin Brockovich' and more
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 8, 2019 9:43 AM CST
'Powerhouse' Actor Albert Finney Dead at 82
This Feb. 25, 2001 file photo shows actor Albert Finney.   (William Conran/PA via AP, FIle)

Tributes pouring in from film circles acknowledge the acting greatness that was Albert Finney, who has died at age 82. The five-time Oscar nominee "passed away peacefully after a short illness with those closest to him by his side," a family rep says, per the BBC. The Guardian describes a chest infection, noting the actor previously revealed he had kidney cancer. Nominated four times for the best actor Academy Award, and once for best supporting actor, Finney got his start at the Royal Shakespeare Company before landing memorable roles in Tom Jones, Murder on the Orient Express, Erin Brockovich, Big Fish, and—his last film—Skyfall.

Finney also played the title role in 1970's Scrooge, played Daddy Warbucks in 1982's Annie, and portrayed Winston Churchill in 2002's The Gathering Storm, for which he won a Golden Globe. British actor and director David Morrissey is among those remembering the "true great." He was "a powerhouse of an actor. A real hero of mine," he says in a tweet. Finney himself appears to have been rather modest. Per the BBC, he not only "largely ignored the celebrity lifestyle" but declined an offer of knighthood in 2000. "I think the Sir thing slightly perpetuates one of our diseases in England, which is snobbery," he's quoted as saying at the time. (More obituary stories.)

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