Only a few days ahead of his fifty-ninth birthday, Northern Irish actor Ray Stevenson died at age fifty-eight. The actor famously played characters in popular fantasy films like Marvel’s Thor franchise, Punisher: War Zone, King Arthur, and the upcoming Star Wars: Ahsoka series for Disney. Although no cause of death has yet been listed for the actor who died too young, the Italian newspaper Republica reported that Stevenson felt unwell and checked into the hospital a few days before his untimely death, according to a report by Daily Mail.
The actor’s rep reported that Stevenson died on Sunday. He was last seen working on the film titled Cassino in Ischia. He was playing an action star actor who was trying to bring his career back from the brink of nothingness as he tried to fix problems with his family after leaving them behind in search of fame.
Stevenson was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland back, on May 25, 1964. He was the second of three sons born to a pilot with the Royal Air Force and his wife. The family moved from Northern Ireland to England when Stevenson was an eight-year-old boy. He sought an acting career when he was an adult and enrolled in the Bristol Old Vic Theater School, which he graduated from when he was twenty-nine years old.
The actor got his start making guest appearances in various TV shows and TV movies. However, he made his big screen debut in the 1998 film The Theory of Flight. He starred as a gigolo along with fellow actors Kenneth Branagh and Helena Bonham Carter. After this film debut, he received steady acting work with various television shows on the island of Great Britain.
Stevenson was a commanding character who stood six feet three inches tall. His persona helped him land a part of Dagonet in the 2004 film King Arthur. He was working with then-up-and-coming actor Clive Owen.
His career evolved after King Arthur. He moved into action roles, including a foray into ancient Rome for the mini-series Rome. He played a burly soldier with a good heart for the Emmy-winning series. He later played the role of Frank Castle in Punisher: War Zone. In 2008, Stevenson, who was a classically trained actor, admitted he was not familiar with the comic that the Punisher character was based on.
“In all fairness, when I first read it, I thought, ‘This is just extremely violent. What the hell is this?’” he told Collider in 2008. “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 wanted fans to know that they should not try to mimic his character.
“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,” Stevenson said.
Stevenson is survived by his partner Elisabetta Caraccia and their children Sebastiano, 15, and Leonardo, 12.