Postlethwaite's 40-year career encompassed both stage and screen, including a stint in the 1980s with the Royal Shakespeare Company after years of working in regional English theater. With the kind of instantly recognizable face crucial for a character actor — sunken, bony cheeks, broad forehead and a bulbous nose — Postlethwaite made his way to the screen in 1988 in the British drama "Distant Voices, Still Lives," one of many rough-edged, working-class roles he would take on over the years.
Pete was born in Warrington, England, on February 7, 1946, and initially trained to be a teacher, serving as a drama instructor at Loreto College in Manchester before taking a detour into acting.
His breakthrough came playing Daniel Day-Lewis' father in the political drama "In the Name of the Father," which earned him a best-supporting-actor Oscar nomination. He followed that part with other memorable roles in films such as "The Usual Suspects," "Brassed Off" and "Amistad." Postlethwaite also made forays into big-budget Hollywood fare, including "Alien 3," Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet," "Inception," "Clash of the Titans" and "The Lost World: Jurassic Park." It was his work in that dinosaur sequel that led director Steven Spielberg to dub the veteran performer the "best actor in the world."
He is survived by his wife and two children.
Postlethwaite appeared in the U.S.A., Spanish co-produced TV series “The New Zorro” starring Duncan Regehr in a guest appearance in the second season, episode 15 “The Marked Man” as Correo’s accomplice
Biltmore: The New Zorro comes to N.A. DVD this spring.
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