Beloved actor Ray Stevenson died on Monday, at the age of 58, but his cause of death remains unclear. On May 22, it was reported that Stevenson has passed away in Italy. His publicist confirmed the sad news but did not share any further details.
It is unknown if Stevenson had been facing any illnesses or health issues, but there is no indication that he ever publicly shared medical concerns. Notably, the BBC reports that Stevenson was hospitalized while filming on Ischia, an island in Italy. The actor was working on a film there, at the time of his death, and was just a few days shy of his 59th birthday.
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Stevenson was an Irish actor who began his career in the early ’90s but rose to fame starring as Titus Pullo in HBO’s Rome television show in the mid-2000s. He would later go on to play two Marvel Comics characters: Frank Castle — AKA The Punisher — in War Zone, and Asgardian warrior Volstagg in the MCU. Over the years he also appeared in movies such as The Book of Eli, The Three Musketeers, and the Divergent franchise. One of his most recent roles was as the evil Governor Scott Buxton in S.S.Rajamouli’s Tollywood smash RRR. Next up, fans can see Stevenson in the Disney+ Star Wars series Ahsoka, in which he plays a character known as Baylan Skoll.
On Instagram, the official Star Wars account paid tribute to the late actor, sharing a photo of him and writing a memorial post. “We are heartbroken to hear of the passing of our dear friend Ray Stevenson. Ray was an incredible combination of talent, warmth, humor, and heart,” the statement read. “We were lucky to have Ray join the Star Wars galaxy as Gar Saxon in Star Wars Rebels and then more recently as Baylan Skoll in Ahsoka. His ability to play a villain, while being such a kind and caring person in reality, is a testament to his incredible talent. He was loved and respected by everyone who knew him. Our thoughts are with his family at this time.”
In what may have been one of his final interviews, Stevenson spoke with Collider in April and opened up about working on Ahsoka. “There’s eight episodes to see, and I would say it’s episodes 1 to 8. You cannot separate them, it’s like picking which child is your favourite child,” he said of the series, then going on to praise Dave FIloni and Jon Favreau, who developed the project.
“The storylines themselves, it’s second guesses, it’s this, and it’s that, where does it all lead? There’s a lot of cliffhanging surprises and journeys and unexpected events, and Dave just kept it going and kept it coming, it was just a delight to go to work,” he said. “Exhausting, but a delight.”
