Thor and Star Wars actor dead at 58

Northern Irish actor Ray Stevenson died suddenly while filming in Rome.

The actor Ray Stevenson, who starred in films such as Thor and the upcoming Star Wars series Ahsoka has died aged 58.

Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that the actor was taken to hospital with an illness while working on the film Cassino on the island of Ischia.

Friends and co-stars paid tribute to him on social media, including Harry Potter star Matthew Lewis, who worked alongside Stevenson on the TV show ‘Some Kind of Life’

This is so sad. Ray played my Dad in the first thing I ever did on TV. Almost 30 years ago. A proper actor with a fascinating career and I couldn’t have dreamed of a better first experience in this ridiculous industry. RIP Ray x https://t.co/lcdGZgzjY7 pic.twitter.com/nYqNpOmn7Y

— 🇺🇦Matthew Lewis🇺🇦 (@Mattdavelewis) May 22, 2023

Stevenson was born in Northern Ireland in 1964 and got his film break in the 1998 film The Theory of Flight starring Helena Bonham Carter. Other roles included the Divergent trilogy, GI Joe: Retaliation and The Transporter: Refueled.

Stevenson cited his influences as Gene Hackman and Lee Marvin. In an interview in 2020, Stevenson said of them: “Never a bad performance, and brave and fearless within that calibre. It was never the young, hot leading man; it was men who I could identify with.”

Stevenson is survived by the three sons he had with Italian anthropologist Elisabetta Caraccia.