Robert Carlyle leads tributes to ‘The Fully Monty’ actor Tom Wilkinson, who has died aged 75

1 January, 2024

Tom Wilkinson

Robert Carlyle is among the friends and colleagues who have paid tribute to the actor Tom Wilkinson, who has died at the age of 75. 

Wilkinson won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor for his role in 1997’s The Full Monty, and was nominated for two Oscars, for In the Bedroom (2001) and Michael Clayton (2007). He also appeared in films including Shakespeare in Love (1998), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Batman Begins (2005) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). 

He died suddenly at home on Saturday (December 30) with his wife and family, they said in a statement. 

Carlyle, who starred alongside Wilkinson in The Full Monty, wrote on X: “So sad to hear of the passing of Tom. A wonderful man, he will be sorely missed by everyone who had the pleasure of working with him. A brilliant actor, truly one of the greats of not only his but of any generation.. RIP Tom Wilkinson.” 

George Clooney, who shared the screen with Wilkinson in Michael Clayton, described him as “the epitome of elegance”, adding, “Tom made every project better. Made every actor better. He will be dearly missed by all of us.” 

Eddie Izzard appeared alongside Wilkinson in the 2008 thriller Valkyrie, and wrote: “So sad to hear that the wonderful Tom Wilkinson has left us. He brought such a strong presence to every role he played. To have known him just a little was an honour.” 

The Full Monty got a new TV reboot on Disney+ this year, with the film’s original cast returning for the series. 

The original hit film was released in 1997, and follows a group of unemployed men in Sheffield who start a striptease act to raise money, and the new eight-episode limited series caught up with the group 25 years later, bringing back Carlyle (Gaz) and Wilkinson (Gerald), as well as Mark Addy (Dave), Lesley Sharp (Jean), Hugo Speer (Guy), Paul Barber (Horse), Steve Huison (Lomper) and Wim Snape (Nathan). 

The Full Monty was a huge box office success when it was released, making $257million (£196million) off a $3million (£2.29million) budget, and was nominated for four Oscars, winning one for Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score. 

Carlyle spoke to NME last year about the busy period of time in his career in the late 1990s that also included turns in Trainspotting and James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. 

“Yeah that was a busy time!” he recalled. “I was literally just going from one country to the next for most of those years. I was hopping from Prague to Slovakia and then Hungary and Bulgaria and Romania… those films kept me going farther and farther east. It was a magic time. And to get the opportunity to have a laugh in a Bond film? That’s alright, isn’t it?” 

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