Image Source: E Online
Over the weekend, David Warner, an English actor who excelled in playing evil supporting characters in films like “Titanic,” passed away. He was 80.
Warner’s family stated in a statement given to CNN by his talent agency that he died from a “cancer-related condition.” According to his relatives, he had been sick for 18 months and “approached his sickness with a typical elegance and dignity.”
His long and productive career produced everything from beloved animated series to Oscar-winning horror movies to a Disney musical. However, he acknowledged that he has had an impact on every film genre in a 2017 interview with the AV Club.
David Warner: One career encompasses Shakespeare, horror, and a best-picture winner
After receiving his degree at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, David Warner began his career on stage. Along with other prominent performances, he performed the title roles in “Hamlet” and “Richard II” with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He also appeared in the 1968 motion picture adaptation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” alongside Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, and Diana Rigg.
He frequently portrayed Shakespearean heroes on stage, but he frequently portrayed the bad guy in films. For instance, in Disney’s classic science fiction movie “Tron,” he played a power-hungry CEO who mistook Jeff Bridges’ concepts for his own. As Spicer Lovejoy, he collaborated with Billy Zane’s villain in the movie “Titanic” to keep the main couple apart. Warner almost assumed the role of “Evil” in Terry Gilliam’s “Time Bandits.”
David Warner was portrayed as the supporting character in some of his most enduring roles. For instance, he portrayed a photographer in “The Omen” who was in danger from the evil child Damien rather than the villain. In addition, he had roles in three films under Sam Peckinpah’s direction, including the World War II ensemble drama “Cross of Iron.”
Warner played Bob Cratchit, Ebenezer Scrooge’s sympathetic employee when he could in a television rendition of “A Christmas Carol.” Then, he made a cameo as a Klingon in one of the two “Star Trek” films he was an actor in. Finally, he portrays the eccentric Admiral Boom in “Mary Poppins Returns,” a veteran of the military who periodically fires cannons to mark the passage of time.
Among other animated shows, he provided the voice of Ra’s al Ghul in “Batman: The Animated Series” and “The Amazing World of Gumball.” He stated that acting in “kids pictures” like “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II” was a “great thrill” in 2017. He continued by expressing his “utmost respect for the turtle suit actors.”
Warner had a brilliant career, but he frequently treated his legacy with a lack of respect. For instance, Warner stated that he “drifted into the occasional school play” as a young man since he was “hopeless” in academics and athletics during the 2017 AV Club interview.
David Warner and Lin-Manuel Miranda co-starred in “Mary Poppins Returns,” and Lin-Manuel Miranda tweeted a photo of the pair together in David Warner’s remembrance.
When Warner acted Hamlet in 1965, the Royal Shakespeare Company described him as a “tortured student with his long orange scarf.”
Warner is survived by his partner Lisa Bowerman, his son Luke, and his “many gold dust mates,” according to his family’s statement.
He will be remembered as a kind-hearted, giving, and caring man, partner, and a parent whose legacy of remarkable work has touched the lives of so many over the years, according to his family. “He will be much missed by us, his family, and friends,” they said.
