Famous Irish actor Ray passed away on Sunday, May 21. His publicist confirmed the news to Variety. The 58-year-old actor was seen in several Marvel films such as Thor and its sequel Thor: The Dark World in which he portrayed Volstagg. Born on May 25, 1964 in Lisburn, Stevenson was the second of three sons. He moved to England at the age of 8 and got enrolled in the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He graduated at 29 and became a regular actor in movies and TV shows since the early 90s.
No other details of his death have yet been released. The much loved Hollywood actor began his career appearing on TV shows in the 1990s then began landing action roles in Hollywood films starting in the 2000s. Ray Stevenson is known to Indian audiences through his negative role of Governor Scott Buxton in SS Rajamouli's period action blockbuster RRR last year. The Jr NTR and Ram Charan starrer remains the only Indian movie in his filmography.
His breakthrough came with the 1998 film The Theory of Flight in which he played the role of a gigolo tasked to help Helena Bonham Carter’s character lose her virginity. He impressed everyone with his performances in Punisher: War Zone, Volstagg in Marvel’s Thor movies and Kill the Irishman.
His first major film role cam in Antoine Fuqua’s 2004’s adventure movie King Arthur, where he played Dagonet, one of the Knights of the Round Table. Ray quickly became known to U.S. audiences as the charming soldier Titus Pullo on the big-budget 2005-07 HBO series Rome. A year after the series ended, he was on-screen in Punisher: War Zone (2008) as Marvel anti-hero Frank Castle.
While he originally pursued a career in interior design, he enrolled in the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and began his professional acting career after graduating at 29. Stevenson’s acting credits span decades and genres. Recently, Stevenson appeared in the Oscar-nominated Tollywood blockbuster “RRR” as the evil Governor Scott Buxton. He will also appear in this summer’s Disney+ “Star Wars” series “Ahsoka” as a Jedi named Baylan Skoll, who turns to the dark side and is an ally to the diabolic Grand Admiral Thrawn. He previously voiced the character Gar Saxon in “Star Wars Rebels” and “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.”
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