Lethal Weapon 2 actor Joss Ackland has died aged 95.
Known for uttering the phrase “Diplomatic immunity” before being shot by Danny Glover’s Roger Murtaugh, Ackland racked up over 130 film and TV credits during a career spanning eight decades.
“Joss was a long term client and great friend who remained lucid, erudite and mischievous to the very end,” said his representative, Paul Pearson, on Sunday. “He died peacefully with his family this morning.”
The British actor was also known for his role in The Hunt For Red October starring alongside Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, and Tim Curry as the Soviet Ambassador to the United States. But there are plenty of other films you’ll recognize him from. He also appeared in K19: The Widowmaker, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, and even voiced Black Rabbit in everyone’s favorite nightmarish kids animation, Watership Down.
On TV, he was perhaps best known for his appearances in Shadowlands and Midsomer Murders, and he also starred alongside Alec Guinness in the 1979 adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
However, he also starred on stage alongside some of the greats, including Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Judi Dench, and Tom Courtenay. He made his acting debut in a 1945 production of The Hasty Heart and went on to earn numerous stage credits, starring in Evita alongside Elaine Paige, and A Little Night Music. Most Recently, he took the title role in Shakespeare’s King Lear in a production at the Old Vic in 2013.
Ackland did regret appearing in what he considered to be ‘bad’ films. “I do an awful lot of crap, but if it's not immoral, I don't mind. I'm a workaholic,” he told the Radio Times (via BBC News) back in 2001. He said that he “regretted” appearing in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey as well as his cameo in the Pet Shop Boys music video, Always on My Mind. “I can't tell you how embarrassing that was,” he said.
“I was in Mad Dogs And Englishmen, with Liz Hurley, which was God-awful and quite rightly torn to shreds,” he added. “Then there was Passion Of Mind last year with Demi Moore. Terrible script. Awful, actually, but I needed the money. She's alright, not very bright or talented. I imagine she and Bruce Willis together were a joy to behold.”
Ackland was married to his wife Rosemary for 51 years who died back in 2002. He is survived by seven children, 34 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren.
Image credit: Photo by Ferdaus Shamim/WireImage
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
