Star Wars and Thor actor Ray Stevenson has died at the age of 58 in Italy this past weekend.
Known for roles in the Thor films and the Divergent series, as well as several UK TV shows like Band of Gold, Peak Practice and Murphy’s Law, his US-based publicist firm, Viewpoint, confirmed his death to the BBC but did not provide any further details.
Due to star in this summer’s Disney+ Star Wars series “Ahsoka” as a Jedi named Baylan Skoll, who turns to the dark side and is an ally to the diabolic Grand Admiral Thrawn, he previously voiced the character Gar Saxon in Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
The Irish actor began his career appearing on TV shows in the 1990s. He went on to land action roles in Hollywood films starting in the 2000s. His first significant film role came in Antoine Fuqua’s 2004’s adventure movie King Arthur, where he played Dagonet, one of the Knights of the Round Table. In the film, his character sacrifices himself in battle to help Arthur (Clive Owen) and his brotherhood of warriors.
In 2008, Stevenson acquired a role in the Marvel film, Punisher: War Zone, where he played the titular mercenary, aka Frank Castle. In the 2010s, Stevenson appeared in action movies like The Book of Eli, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, The Three Musketeers, and franchises like Marvel’s Thor and the Divergent adaptation. In his second Marvel role, Stevenson played the Asgardian hero Volstagg, one of the Warriors Three who were allies to Chris Hemsworth’s Thor.
Most recently, he starred in the Oscar-nominated Tollywood blockbuster RRR as the evil Governor Scott Buxton. On TV, Stevenson starred in the HBO historical drama Rome as Titus Pullo from 2005-07. He also starred in Season 7 of Showtime’s Dexter, Starz’ Black Sails and Vikings Season 6.
