You may not know his name, but chances are that you’ve seen Pete Postlethwaite in something – he was one of the all-time great character actors. Pete passed away yesterday in England, after fighting cancer for years. He was Oscar-nominated for his role in In The Name of the Father, where he played the father of Daniel Day Lewis’s character, and he had smaller parts in some of the best films of the past two decades. Just in 2010, he was in Inception, The Town and Clash of the Titans. He is also remembered for his roles in The Usual Suspects, The Constant Gardener, Romeo + Juliet, Amistad, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and The Last of the Mohicans. Go here for his IMDB page – his filmography is incredible.

Pete Postlethwaite died in a in Shropshire, England, hospital Sunday after a lengthy fight with cancer. The actor was 64.

An Oscar nominee for his role as the father of Daniel Day-Lewis’s character in the 1993 In the Name of the Father, the distinctive-looking Postlethwaite also played the menacing owner of a flower shop in last year’s The Town, directed by and starring Ben Affleck. In Inception, he was the rich, dying patriarch (his son was played by Cillian Murphy).

Steven Spielberg, who directed Postlewaite in The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Amistad, once called him “the best actor in the world.” In response, Postlethwaite – who originally wanted to be a priest – quipped, “I’m sure what Spielberg actually said was, ‘the thing about Pete is that he thinks he’s the best actor in the world.’ ”

A political activist, Postlethwaite protested the war in Iraq, supported the Make Poverty History campaign and starred in a 2009 film about global warming, The Age of Stupid, reports Britain’s Independent.

Survivors are his wife, Jacqui, his son Will and daughter, Lily, says the newspaper.

[From People]

Sad. You know what’s weird? I always thought he was Irish, because his Irish accent was so good (to my ears), I had always associated him as an Irish actor. But he’s British! British actors are just incredible, aren’t they? Sigh… sad for his family, sad for the film community, sad that we lost such a great talent. Thoughts and prayers for his family and friends.

Photos courtesy of WENN.