Ray Stevenson, ‘Thor’ and ‘Divergent’ Actor, De@d at 58
Beam Stevenson, who showed up in the initial three Thor films, the Dissimilar series and most as of late featured in the Oscar-winning amazing RRR, passed on at age 58 on Sunday.Stevenson’s publicist confirmed his death with PEOPLE on Monday, though no further information concerning his cause of death was available at this time. The actor died three days prior to his 59th birthday.
The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported Monday that Stevenson was filming an upcoming movie titled Cassino on Ischia on the island of Ischia at the time of his death. The actor was hospitalized following an illness, the outlet reported.
Stevenson, a British actor, got his start onscreen with a number of television appearances in the 1990s and early 2000s before he landed the HBO series Rome, in which he played Titus Pollo. He made his his mark on film around the same time with 2004’s King Arthur, directed by Antoine Fuqua, in which he played the knight Dagonet.Not long after Rome ended in 2007, Stevenson got an opportunity to play the Marvel character the Punisher / Frank Castle in 2008’s Punisher: War Zone.
Though the film was a one-off before Marvel reintroduced the character as portrayed by Jon Bernthal, Stevenson soon landed a spot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe within the Thor franchise as Volstagg, one of Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) close allies through the series’ first three films. The character died during the events of 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok.In the 2010s, Stevenson also had a recurring role in the young adult dystopian franchise Divergent as Marcus, the father of protagonist Four (Theo James). The actor appeared in all three Divergent movies while also appearing in movies like The Other Guys (2010), Kill the Irishman (2011), The Three Musketeers and G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013).
Stevenson made his way into the Star Wars universe with occasional voice roles as Gar Saxon in the Rebels and Clone Wars animated television series. He had filmed a role as a new antagonist in the upcoming Ashoka series as well, with the actor teasing that “getting to wield the light saber is just the best feeling in the world” during April’s Star Wars Celebration, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The actor also portrayed the antagonist Governor Buxton in RRR, which was a crossover hit in the U.S. as it won an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 95th Oscars in March. Aside from his Ashoka role and Cassino in Ischia, Stevenson’s upcoming movie Gateway to the West had entered post-production at the time of his death, according to his IMDb profile.
The actor is survived by a son, Sebastiano Derek Stevenson, whom he welcomed in Dec. 2007.
