Tom Noonan, the soft-spoken actor whose imposing frame made him a memorable cinematic villain, has died. Noonan starred in films like Manhunter, Heat, and Last Action Hero, and was an accomplished writer and director. Noonan was 74.

Noonan was born on April 12, 1951, in Greenwich, Connecticut; his older brother was playwright and screenwriter John Ford Noonan. He turned to acting in his twenties, beginning in theater, and moved to Hollywood in the late 1980s. Thanks to his looming 6’5″ physique and balding pate, he was often cast as villains, and played small roles in films like Michael Cimino‘s disastrous Western Heaven’s Gate, John Cassavetes‘ acclaimed neo-noir Gloria, and the horror film Wolfen.

Who Is Francis Dollarhyde?

Noonan‘s big break came in 1986, when he was cast as serial killer Francis Dollarhyde in Manhunter by Michael Mann. Although the film was not a financial success, and would be overshadowed by later adaptations of Thomas Harris‘ Hannibal Lecter novels, Noonan‘s nuanced and frightening portrayal of the “Tooth Fairy” was universally praised, and led to a number of other roles as cinematic villains, including the sadistic drug lord Cain in RoboCop 2, Frankenstein’s monster in The Monster Squad, and the maniacal Reaper in Last Action Hero; as part of the latter’s meta framework, Noonan also played himself. Noonan would work with Mann again in a memorable part as a criminal hacker in 1995’s Heat.

Noonan was a familiar presence on TV, guesting on series like The X-Files, The Blacklist, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; the latter reunited him with his Manhunter nemesis, William Petersen. He also had leading roles on the TV series Damages, Hell on Wheels, and 12 Monkeys. In his later years, he made memorable appearances in Charlie Kaufman‘s mind-bending art film Synecdoche, New York and Ti West‘s throwback horror film The House of the Devil. In one of his more unusual roles, he loaned his voice to the animated film Anomalisa, voicing every character in the film save for the two main characters. Noonan was also an accomplished playwright, and adapted two of his plays for film, What Happened Was… and The Wife, starring in both. His last performance was on the HBO animated series Animals.

Noonan‘s death was first announced by Karen Sillas, his co-star in What Happened Was…, who reported that he passed away peacefully on February 14.

via Collider