Bob was a great actor and an even greater man. Funny, loyal, instinctive, hard-working, with that inimitable energy that seemed like a spectacular firework rocket just as it takes off. When I worked with him on The Long Good Friday he was supportive and not egotistical. He was never sexist, when many around at that time were. I had the honour of watching the creation of one of the most memorable characters in British film.
I watched his brilliant Bosola in The Duchess of Malfi, and then had the greatest of pleasures in playing again opposite him in the film Last Orders. Playing again with him was like playing a duet with a brother I had grown up with, which professionally I had. I personally will miss him very much, London will miss one of her best and most loving sons, and Britain will miss a man to be proud of. Shane Meadows
Bob Hoskins is the most generous actor I have worked with. He not only took a huge chance on me when he agreed to star in my first feature film, he taught me so much about the business, how to survive it and how to stay true to yourself. When we travelled to New York together back in the late 90s to promote Twenty Four Seven, the film company had put Bob in first class and me in with the chickens. Bob refused to go unless they upgraded me to first or downgraded him to economy. They upgraded me, thank goodness, but knowing he would have forgone the champers and flambe steak to sit in twerp class with me says it all really: he was a true gentleman. Stephen Woolley
Growing up in ungentrified Islington in the 60s, there were a few showbiz heroes I could identify with. Michael Caine, Harold Pinter, Johnny Speight and Lionel Bart were prominent in the media and unafraid of their working-class roots; successful yet respected for their honesty and candour. In the 70s, along came Bob, an actor that told it like it was, played straight from the soul and was equally adept in Guys and Dolls and The Duchess of Malfi, The Long Good Friday and Pennies from Heaven, on stage, on screen and on TV.
He reset the dial for all the other actors to follow, from Tim Roth to Ray Winstone, Phil Daniels to Gary Oldman. Bob's performances breathed real life and vitality, pathos and humour, and always came from a place of reality.
As I was to discover when producing Mona Lisa, with Bob it always came straight from the heart. He owned the part of the downtrodden George, confused and worn down by the injustices of the criminal world. You can't imagine anyone else playing it; yet the part was originally conceived for Sean Connery.
Words can't explain what a generous and gentle man Bob was: so generous it was impossible not to fall in love with him. I am very privileged to have witnessed him at work and been in a small way part of his huge universe. He was a great actor, yet unlike many actors he was first and foremost a courteous, sweet and caring human being. He could make monsters human and wring a smile out of any situation without a whisker of embarrassment.
With his talent, Bob gatecrashed the world of celebrity, and made all of us ordinary people feel a little better about ourselves. More on Bob Hoskins * Xan Brooks on his genius* Career in clips* Career in photos* Obituary* Peter Bradshaw on Hoskins' finest hour
Post By http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/apr/30/bob-hoskins-shane-meadows-helen-mirren-stephen-woolley
0 comments Blogger 0 Facebook
Post a Comment