Oscar-nominated British actor Pete Postlethwaite has died at the age of 64, a spokesman has announced.
Journalist and friend Andrew Richardson said the actor, who was appointed OBE in 2003, died peacefully in hospital in Shropshire after a lengthy illness.
In 1994, he was nominated for an Oscar for In The Name of the Father.
Ex-girlfriend Julie Walters said he was a "big part" of her early acting career and praised him as "the most exciting, exhilarating actor of his generation".
I only knew him from his brilliant role in The Usual Suspects. Yet another actor I know passing away. After Tony Curtis, Lena Horne, Leslie Nielsen and Tom Bosley (among others), now Postlethwaite...
