British actor Ronald Pickup has died at the age of eighty. He died on Wednesday surrounded by his wife and family after a long illness, his agent told British media.
Pickup had a long career, playing numerous roles in theater, movies and TV series. His breakthrough came in 1964 with a role in Doctor Who and continued into old age.
More recently, he has starred in such films as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012) and its sequel, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015).
This was followed by roles in the hit Netflix series The Crown in 2016, as the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the film Darkest Hour (2017). Pickup played the role of British politician Neville Chamberlain.
We're very sad to hear that Ronald Pickup has died.
— National Theatre (@NationalTheatre) February 25, 2021
Ronald was an exceptional actor and had a long history with the NT, starting with 1964's The Royal Hunt of the Sun.
He went on to feature in 36 of our productions, and was a regular at The Old Vic under Laurence Olivier. pic.twitter.com/C6wBmAnSNA