A beloved actor who appeared in a variety of Hollywood films has passed away suddenly at the age of 58.
Ray Stevenson, 58, died on Sunday just days before his 59th birthday, his representative confirmed.
The actor was best known for roles in fantasy and action movies and series including Punisher: War Zone, Vikings, Star Wars: Ahsoka, King Arthur, and Thor movies by Marvel.
According to the reports, it is believed that the Irish actor was filming Cassino in Ischia, Italy, when he suddenly fell ill and required hospitalization.
Days later, Stevenson seemingly succumbed to his mysterious condition and passed on.
The Irishman was born in 1964 in Lisburn. By the time he was 8 years old, his family had moved to England, and by the time he was in his 30s, he made his big screen debut by appearing in The Theory of Flight.
After his success in the movie, Stevenson appeared in several British TV series before landing the role of Dagonet in King Arthur and later Frank Castle in Punisher: War Zone.
The actor previously opened up about his role in Punisher as he admitted he wasn’t very keen to portray the anti-hero Frank Castle.
“In all fairness, when I first read it, I thought, ‘This is just extremely violent. What the hell is this?’” Stevenson previously told Collider.
“You don’t want to be Frank. It’s strange to have the sort of lead or hero of a film that you don’t actually want to be. That’s what intrigued me.”
He added: “He’s in such a dark place. He may have made his peace with that, but there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. There’s no redemption for Frank. That’s deeply intriguing.”
Later on, Stevenson also opened up about his role as Volstagg, an Asgardian warrior and one of the Warriors Three.
“I’m Volstag and what you see is what you get. He’s a bon vivant lover of life epicurean goodfellow. He’s a god, which helps. He’s full of life,” he said in 2010 after being cast in Marvel’s Thor.
“There’s a wonderful innocence to him and the steadfast loyalty of a big Saint Bernard dog. He’d come running through the snow with a keg of beer to save your life. You know, he’s got a twinkle in his eye. He’s always up for a party. Yeah, that’s about it. He’s an all-around good egg. Big egg, but a good egg.”
Stevenson is survived by his longtime girlfriend Elisabetta Caraccia and children Leonardo, 12, and Sebastiano, 15.
Our thoughts remain with Ray’s loved ones during this challenging time.
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