Ronan Vibert, ‘Saving Mr. Banks’ Actor, Dead at 58 After Short Illness

Ronan Vibert, the veteran actor best known for his role in Saving Mr Banks, has died. Vibert passed away at a Florida hospital on Thursday, Dec. 22 following a “brief illness,” his manager Sharon Vitro told The Hollywood Reporter. Further information, including the actor’s exact cause of death, was not given. Vibert was 58.

Born in Cambridgeshire, England in February 1964, Vibert spent his childhood in Penarth, South Wales and attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Four years after graduating from the esteemed drama school in 1985, Vibert made his acting debut in 1989 in the award-winning TV series Traffik, which served as the basis for Steven Soderbergh’s Oscar-winning 2000 film Traffic. In the years that followed, Vibert added a number of credits to his name, appearing in episodes of hit British television programs like Birds of a Feather, Lovejoy, The Buccaneers, and Gimme Gimme Gimme throughout the ’90s.

The actor went on to make his big screen debut screen with a role opposite John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe in the 2000 film Shadow Of The Vampire. That role was followed a year later with a role in director Peter Bogdanovich’s The Cat’s Meow opposite Kirsten Dunst. He also starred in Roman Polanski’s Oscar-winning The Pianist (2002), the Angelina Jolie-led sequel Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003), and the James Franco film Tristan + Isolde (2006). Vibert, however, was best known for his role in Saving Mr. Banks. In John Lee Hancock’s Oscar-nominated Disney Studios drama, the actor starred as P.L. Travers’ publisher Diarmuid Russell. The film also starred Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti, and Bradley Whitford.

Vibert’s other acting credits include The Alienist, The Borgias, The Lizzie Borden Chronicles, NCIS: Los Angeles, Poirot, Penny Dreadful, The Bill, and The Scarlet Pimpernel. He also did voice work for video games, including Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag in 2013 and Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales in 2018, according to the Independent. His last TV appearance was as Ritter Longerbane in Prime Video’s Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne-starring series Carnival Row. His most recent big-screen credits include 2017’s Michael Fassbender-led thriller The Snowman and the historical action flick 6 Days with Jamie Bell and Mark Strong.

Vibert is survived by his wife Jess Grand Vibert. A private service for the family is set to be held in the coming days, with a Celebration of Life also planned to take place in London in 2023.