ACTOR · BORN 1931 · DIED 2020
Ian Holm
- Born
- 12 September 1931, Goodmayes, Essex, England, UK
- Died
- 19 June 2020
- Known for
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), Ratatouille (2007)
37 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
All facts (37)
- #001
In 1976, while performing in "The Iceman Cometh," Ian Holm developed severe stage fright and left the theatre. He has returned only three times since.
- #002
Ian Holm hated milk. Having to gargle and spit repeatedly during the final scene of Alien (1979) made him very uncomfortable.
- #003
Ian Holm played Napoleon Bonaparte three times, in Napoleon and Love (1974), Time Bandits (1981) and The Emperor's New Clothes (2001), and was among the frontrunners for the role in Stanley Kubrick's still-unproduced biopic.
- #004
Ian Holm won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role in "The Homecoming," which he reprised in the 1973 film version of Harold Pinter's play.
- #005
Ian Holm's children were: with Lynn Mary Shaw, daughters Jessica Holm and Sarah-Jane Holm; with Sophie Baker, son Harry Holm; and with professional photographer Bee Gilbert, with whom he had a relationship after his first marriage (1965-1976) but never married, son Barnaby Holm and daughter Melissa (now a casting director under the name Lissy Holm).
- #006
Ian Holm was the son of Jean Wilson (née Holm), a nurse of Scottish origin, and Dr. James Harvey Cuthbert.
- #007
Ian Holm was set to play Pope John Paul II in a CBS miniseries but had to leave the production for undisclosed "personal reasons." Jon Voight replaced him.
- #008
For his performance in "King Lear" on the Royal National Theatre's Cottesloe stage, Ian Holm was awarded the 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actor of the 1997 season.
- #009
Along with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller, Ian Holm played both Dr. Frankenstein and the Creature.
- #010
Ian Holm was appointed CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours and was knighted in the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to drama.
- #011
Ian Holm underwent treatment for prostate cancer in 2001.
- #012
Ian Holm appeared in two adaptations of Mary Shelley's 1819 novel "Frankenstein": in Frankenstein (1968) he played both Victor Frankenstein and the Creature, and in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) he played Frankenstein's father, Baron Frankenstein.
- #013
Ian Holm was awarded the 1993 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in "Moonlight."
- #014
Ian Holm was an Associate Member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
- #015
Ian Holm was awarded the 1997 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in "King Lear."
- #016
As of 2014, Ian Holm had appeared in five films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), Chariots of Fire (1981), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) and The Aviator (2004). Of these, Chariots of Fire (1981) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) won the category.
- #017
Ian Holm voiced radio announcements for New York-Presbyterian Medical Center (New York City, USA), where he was treated for prostate cancer (2002).
- #018
Ian Holm worked with two Frodos: Christopher Guard in Les Misérables (1978) and Elijah Wood in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Holm also played Frodo in a BBC Radio production. He worked with three more Bilbos: Norman Bird (from Ralph Bakshi's film) in Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) and Young Winston (1972); Martin Freeman in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013); and John Le Mesurier in a BBC Radio production.
- #019
Ian Holm shared two roles with Orson Bean. Bean voiced Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit (1977), while Holm played him in Peter Jackson's trilogy. Bean also played Frodo in The Return of the King (1980); Holm played Frodo on BBC radio.
- #020
Ian Holm had no apparent objection to being buried up to his neck in pursuit of his craft, as it happened to him in at least three films: Alien (1979), Brazil (1985) and Simon Magus (1999).
- #021
Ian Holm won the 1997 London Critics Circle Theatre Award for Best Actor (Drama) for his performance in "King Lear" at the Royal National Theatre.
- #022
He replaced Donald Sutherland at the last minute in the lead role of The Sweet Hereafter (1997).
- #023
Although he appeared in only two "The Lord of the Rings" productions, Ian Holm worked with three Aragorns. He acted alongside Viggo Mortensen in the Lord of the Rings films, with Robert Stephens in the radio adaptation, and with John Hurt in Alien (1979). Mortensen and Hurt were also last-minute replacements for other actors.
- #024
When he returned to the Royal Shakespeare Company in the mid-1960s, where he first won acclaim for his contemporary-styled "Richard III" and "Henry V", Ian Holm developed a crippling case of stage fright during his 1976 performance in "The Iceman Cometh" and quickly withdrew from the production. For nearly twenty years his only stage appearance was as Astrov in "Uncle Vanya" in 1979. He finally returned to the theatre in 1993 to create the role of Andy in Harold Pinter's short play "Moonlight", winning an Evening Standard Award for it. "King Lear" a few years later earned him an Olivier Award as well as Evening Standard and London Critic's Circle Theatre awards.
- #025
He was honoured with the 1993 London Critics Circle Theatre Award for Best Actor (Drama Theatre Award) for "Moonlight". His wife Penelope Wilton was also honoured at the same awards ceremony, winning Best Actress for "The Deep Blue Sea".
- #026
Ian Holm was 50 years old when he played Frodo in the BBC radio dramatisation of "The Lord of the Rings"; Frodo was that age when he set out on his quest to destroy the One Ring.
- #027
His remains were cremated at Breakspear Crematorium in Ruislip, England.
- #028
After directing him in the film Henry V (1989), Kenneth Branagh described Ian Holm's acting style as "Anything you can do, I can do less of".
- #029
He appeared in six films with David Warner: The Bofors Gun (1968), The Fixer (1968), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1969), Holocaust (1978), S.O.S. Titanic (1979) and Time Bandits (1981).
- #030
He played a meteorologist in both The Day After Tomorrow (2004) (as Professor Terry Rapson) and The Aviator (2004) (as Professor Fitz).
- #031
He appeared in two films selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Alien (1979) and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
- #032
Ian Holm shared two roles with Christian Clavier. Both played Thénardier from "Les Misérables". Thénardier calls himself "The Sergeant of Napoleon" and even gives his inn that name. Fittingly, both Holm and Clavier also played Napoleon himself.
- #033
He shares two roles with the other two Bilbos. He and Orson Bean both played Frodo Baggins, while he and Martin Freeman both played King Richard III.
- #034
Along with Ronald Lacey, he was one of the top choices to play the villain Morgus in The Caves of Androzani: Part One (1984), the final serial of Peter Davison's tenure as the Doctor; the role went to John Normington instead.
- #035
He took on the role of Frodo Baggins opposite Bill Nighy as Sam. This led to him playing Bilbo in the film adaptations. Those were followed by the Hobbit trilogy, in which Bilbo was played by Martin Freeman. Freeman also worked with Nighy several times: Love Actually; Shaun of the Dead; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Hot Fuzz; Wild Target; and The World's End.
- #036
Ian Holm was addicted to films from an early age.
- #037
He was born on exactly the same date as Bill McKinney, known for "Deliverance".
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