Prolific Irish actor Ray Stevenson passed away this week, as confirmed by his publicist Nicki Fioravante, per The Hollywood Reporter. The actor was 58 years old.
No other details on his passing are available as of yet. The Italian newspaper publication La Repubblica reports that the actor was hospitalized on the island of Ischia while in production on the film Cassino on Ischia, which is directed by Frank Ciota.
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ACTOR RAY STEVENSON PASSES AWAY AT AGE 58
Stevenson starred in many notable film and television roles over the years, including The Punisher, aka Frank Castle, in the film Punisher: War Zone, released in 2008. He later joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in 2011 for Marvel’s Thor, portraying the role of Warriors Three member Volstagg, later reprising the role in Thor: The Dark World and also Thor: Ragnarok. He also starred as the soldier Titus Pullo in the hit HBO series Rome in 2005-2007.
More recently, he appeared in the Oscar-winning film, RRR, as the villain Scott Buxton. The film received an Oscar earlier this year for Best Original Song, “Naatu Naatu” at the Academy Awards. He is also set to portray the villainous-looking Baylan Skoll in the upcoming live-action streaming Star Wars television series, Ahsoka. Stevenson previously voiced the Mandalorian villain, Gar Saxon, in Star Wars Rebels.
Ray Stevenson was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland on May 25, 1964. He passed just several days before his 59th birthday. His breakout film role came in 1998 with the film The Theory of Flight opposite Helena Bonham Carter. He later starred in Antoine Fuqua’s 2004 King Arthur movie as Dagonet. One of his other notable television roles was the role of Edward Teach, aka the infamous pirate known as Blackbeard, in the hit Starz television show Black Sails. In the sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Stevenson portrayed the Cobra villain known as Firefly.
In Ahsoka, Stevenson’s Baylan Skoll appears to be a lightsaber-wielding villain who will face Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) in a lightsaber duel. Skoll notes in the teaser trailer, “This is a new beginning. For some, war. For others, power.” Skoll’s true motives and what he’s after in the series remain to be seen. However, based on the footage of him that’s been shown, he does not appear to be an altruistic character or an ally to Ahsoka Tano.
Some of Stevenson’s other film roles include Marcus in the Divergent film series, Frank Martin Sr. in The Transporter: Refueled, Redridge in The Book of Eli, and Porthos in Paul W.S. Anderson’s film adaptation of The Three Musketeers. His other television roles included the Ukrainian mobster Isaak Sirko on the Showtime series Dexter and the sailor Othere in Season 6 of Vikings.
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Ahsoka, featuring the late Ray Stevenson, is due out on Disney+ later this year. Variety reports that his other posthumous credits will include 1242: Gateway to the West and the aforementioned Cassino in Ischia.
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SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter
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