London [UK]: Veteran British actor David Warner, who gave memorable performances on screen in films like ‘Titanic’, ‘Tron’ and ‘The Omen’ among several others, has died. He was 80.
According to Variety, Warner passed away on Sunday at Denville Hall, a care home for members of the entertainment industry, from “a cancer-related illness,” reported a British news outlet. The actor’s family confirmed the news “with an overwhelmingly heavy heart” in a statement to the outlet. Born in Manchester, England, in July 1941, Warner studied at the prestigious British drama school the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and first won acclaim for his titular role opposite Vanessa Redgrave in the 1966 British film ‘Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment’ for which he was nominated for a BAFTA.
Warner was Emmy-nominated for playing Reinhard Heydrich, a Nazi official who was a key architect of the Final Solution, in the landmark 1978 miniseries ‘Holocaust’, and won an Emmy for playing the sadistic Roman political opportunist Pomponius Falco in the 1981 miniseries ‘Masada’. He later reprised the role of the Nazi Heydrich in the 1985 film ‘Hitler’s S.S.: Portrait in Evil’.
He was among the large cast of James Cameron’s 1997 epic ‘Titanic’ but was wasted in the role of a thug-like butler. Warner also played a simian senator in Tim Roth’s 2001 reimagining of ‘Planet of the Apes’ and a doctor in the 2005 hit comedy ‘Ladies in Lavender’.
In 1982’s ‘Tron’, boasting then-state-of-the-art special effects, Warner is a villain named Dillinger who steals the plans for some video games and breaks down the hero, played by Jeff Bridges, into the ones and zeroes that represent life within the computer, where the two battle in a landscape within that world that was unlike anything that had been seen before.
Warner was also tied to various franchises, including ‘Star Trek’ and the UK’s iconic ‘Dr. Who’ series. His most recent credits include Disney’s 2018 remake ‘Mary Poppins Return’.
As per Deadline, Warner is survived by his partner Lisa Bowerman, son Luke, daughter-in-law Sarah, and his first wife Harriet.
