Bob Hoskins was an English actor, born 26 October 1942 in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, UK - died 29 April 2014 of pneumonia.
(October 1997) Ranked #97 in Empire magazines "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.
Father of Rosa Hoskins and Jack Hoskins with Linda Banwell.
Father of Alex Hoskins (born 1968) and Sarah Hoskins (born 1972) with Jane Livesey.
Claimed to never have taken an acting lesson in his life and believes in the talent to be "all natural".
Dropping out of school at age 15, he worked odd jobs, including a fire eater in a circus.
Has portrayed four World War II leaders in films: Nikita Khrushchev ( Enemy at the Gates ), Winston Churchill ( World War II: When Lions Roared ), Benito Mussolini ( "Mussolini and I" ) and Lavrenti Beria ( The Inner Circle ).
He was Brian De Palma s second choice for the role of Al Capone in The Untouchables if Robert De Niro was not available. Hoskins was reportedly given a six-figure paycheck by De Palma for "being a great standby".
Adopted an American accent for the role of Eddie Valiant in Who Framed Roger Rabbit .
Described himself as "Five-foot-six and cubic". He once described his face as looking like squashed cabbage.
His grandmother was a Romani (Gypsy). His film, The Raggedy Rawney , was based on stories his grandmother used to tell him.
He was awarded the 1982 Critics Circle Theatre Awards (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actor of 1981 for his performance in "Guys and Dolls" and "True West".
Spent several seasons with the Royal National Theatre and the Old Vic Theatre in London, where his credits included everything from a range of Shakespeare to Chechov to Shaw.
Attended and graduated from the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England.
Was considered for the role of Senator Ralph Owen Brewster in The Aviator , before Alan Alda was cast.
Replaced Danny DeVito as Mario Mario in Super Mario Bros. .
In his earlier years before acting, he wound up looking after camels in Syria and later packing fruit on a kibbutz in Israel, among many other odd jobs.
According to Barry Letts in Beginning the End: Making The Time Warrior , Hoskins was his first choice for the role of Irongron in "Doctor Who" {The Time Warrior: Part One (#11.1)} . Hoskins was not available to take the part but recommended David Daker , who was cast instead.
He was friends with actor/gangster John Bindon and gave a character reference at his Old Bailey murder trial. Bindon was acquitted.
The first record he bought was "Your Eyes Are the Eyes of a Woman in Love" by Frankie Laine. He was a huge fan of jazz music and his favorite albums include "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis and "Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross!".
He played the role of Smee, Captain Hooks right hand man, in both Hook and "Neverland" .
(August 8, 2012) Announced his retirement from acting after the diagnosis of Parkinsons disease in Autumn 2011.
All the lines of the character Wermit in the film In Search of La Che are all quotes of Bob Hoskins.
Spent a short period of time volunteering at Kibbutz Zikim in Israel when he was age 25.
Worked as a porter, lorry driver and window cleaner before he discovered acting.
Attempted a three-year accounting course, but dropped out.
Did not start acting until he was 26 years old.
His acting career began in 1969 at the Unity Theatre. One evening, he was waiting in the Unity Theatre bar for his friend, the actor Roger Frost, to finish an audition. Whilst drinking at the bar, he was given a script and told "Youre next.".
Was the original choice to play Buster Edwards in Buster , but the filmmakers decided the role of a cockney villain was too close to roles he had played before in The Long Good Friday and Mona Lisa , so singer Phil Collins was cast instead.
Was the only child of a bookkeeper and nursery school teacher.
Bob was cremated. His ashes were given to his wife, Linda.
He was considered for the role of The Penguin in Batman Returns that went to Danny DeVito.
He was considered for the role of Dr. Weeks in American Friends that went to Alun Armstrong.
He was considered for the role of Lt. Senna in Homicide that went to Vincent Guastaferro.
He was considered for the role of Horace Slughorn in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that went to Jim Broadbent.
He was considered for the role of Salvatore Maroni in The Dark Knight that went to Eric Roberts.
His father was a communist and brought up Hoskins to be an atheist.
In 1967, aged 25, Hoskins spent a short period of time volunteering in kibbutz Zikim in Israel, and also herded camels in Syria.
His favourite book was "Mr Norris Changes Trains", by Christopher Isherwood.
He was considered for the role of Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2 that went to Alfred Molina.
In 1983, Hoskins voice was used in an advert for Weetabix and during the late 1980s and early 1990s, he appeared in advertising for the recently privatized companies of British Gas and British Telecom (now BT Group).
He was offered the role of Jack Ruby in Ruby , but he was busy working on Hook and had to turn it down. It would have been his third collaboration with John MacKenzie after The Long Good Friday and The Honorary Consul .
He was considered for the role of Leo Lemke in The Butchers Wife that went to George Dzundza.
He turned down the role of Ralph in Romancing the Stone that went to Danny DeVito.
He turned down the role of Harry Lyme in Home Alone .
Appears in the music video of Jamie Ts song "Sheila".
[on the acting profession] I came into this business uneducated,dyslexic, 5ft 6in, cubic, with a face like a squashed cabbage and they,welcomed me with open arms.
[on Method acting] Method is a load of bollocks.
[in his last-ever interview in August 2012] My greatest pleasure in life,is a completely appointment-less day with nothing to do. It means I can,read a book, listen to the radio and do exactly as I wish. If you are,going to do a film properly you have to give yourself completely to it.
[on moving in middle-class circles] There are four types of reaction.
They think Hamlet in a cockney accent is the funniest thing in the,world. Or they tell you most of their friends are working class and,some are even black.
(On his earliest memory) The face of a cat looking into my cot at my,home in Finsbury Park.
