Irish actor Ray Stevenson has died at just 58. No cause of death has been made available, but his publicist has confirmed he died on Sunday in Italy – collapsing whilst filming “Cassino in Ischia”.
Stevenson rose to fame as Titus Pullo in HBO’s “Rome” series before making the jump to the big screen in 2004’s “King Arthur” as Dagonet who sacrifices himself to save the Knights.
Four years later he scored the starring role in the Marvel film “Punisher: War Zone” playing the third screen incarnation of Frank Castle.
A few years after that he returned to the Marvel fold as Asgardian hero Volstagg, one of the Warriors Three and ally to Chris Hemsworth’s Thor.
Other film roles included “The Book of Eli,” “The Three Musketeers,” “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” “Divergent,” “The Transporter: Refueled,” “Cold Skin,” “Accident Man” and more recently “RRR”.
Stevenson was a TV regular too. He played Blackbeard on Starz’s “Black Sails” with the character famously undergoing a brutal keelhauling sequence in the final season.
He was one of the best parts of the otherwise problematic back half of Showtime’s “Dexter” as gay Ukranian gangster Isaak Sirko. He voiced Gar Saxon on “Star Wars Rebels,” was Ohthere of Hålogaland on “Vikings,” King James IV of Scotland in “The Spanish Princess,” Commander Swinburne in last year’s “Das Boot” reimagining, and had regular roles in “Reef Break,” “At Home with the Braithwaites,” “City Central,” “Band of Gold” and more.
Stevenson will soon be seen in his final TV role as Baylan Skoll in “Star Wars: Ahsoka” in August. He also has the film “1242: Gateway to the West” to be released posthumously.
Source: Variety
