Born Robert William Hoskins on the 26th October 1942 in Bury St. Edmunds, West Suffolk, England, Bob was an award winning actor best known to the world for such portrayals as George in the crime-drama film “Mona Lisa” (1986), which brought him Academy Award nomination and Golden Globe Award, then Smee in the adventure comedy “Hook” in 1991, and as Nikita Khrushchev in the war drama “Enemy at the Gates” (2001), among many other differing appearances. Hoskins passed away in 2014.
Have you ever wondered how rich Bob Hoskins was, at the time of his death? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Hoskins’s net worth is as high as $3 million, an amount earned through his successful career as an actor, which was active from the late ‘60s until 2011. During his career, Bob appeared in more than 110 film and TV titles.
Bob Hoskins Net Worth $3 Million
Bob was the son of a bookkeeper and lorry driver, Robert Hoskins, and his wife, Elsie Hoskins who worked as a nursery school teacher and cook. Bob was of Romani ancestry, as his grandmother was a Romani. Although born in Bury St Edmunds, Bob grew up in Finsbury Park, London; he never matriculated from high school as he dropped out of studies, obtaining only a single O-level.
After leaving high school, Bob began searching for a career call, and spent several years working odd jobs such as porter, window cleaner and, like his father, lorry driver.
He discovered his acting talent in 1968, when he was chosen for the role of the servant Peter in the play “Romeo and Juliet”, at the Victoria Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent. Just a year later he confirmed that the role of Peter wasn’t a mistake, when he was with his friend actor Roger Frost at an audition held in Unity Theatre, but the producer gave Bob the script, and once he read it, Bob was selected for the part in the play.
Bob’s screen career started in the early ‘70s, when he was chosen for a minor role in the comedy film “Up the Front”, while in 1973 he portrayed Foster in the BAFTA nominated comedy “The National Health” (1973), starring Lynn Redgrave, Colin Blakely and Eleanor Bron. He spent the ‘70s building-up a name for himself by appearing in such films and TV series as the historical comedy based on George MacDonald Fraser’s novel “Royal Flash” (1975), after being given the lead role in the short-lived TV comedy series “Thick as Thieves” (1974). Then in 1978 Bob had his career breakthrough with the role of Arthur Parker in the TV musical drama series “Pennies from Heaven” (1978), and from then he became one of the most admired English actors who not only gained massive popularity in their native country, but also in Hollywood.
The ‘80s were Bob’s most successful decade of his career, as he starred in a number of successful films, both critically and commercially, which only increased Bob’s net worth to a large degree. He started with the BAFTA Film Award-nominated crime-drama mystery “The Long Good Friday” (1980), next to Helen Mirren and Paul Freeman, then starred with Michael Caine and Richard Gere in the BAFTA Film Award-nominated romantic thriller “Beyond the Limit” (1983), while in 1984 he had the notable role of Owney Madden in Francis Ford Coppola’s classic “The Cotton Club”, and in 1986 portrayed George in the neo-noir crime-drama “Mona Lisa” in which he starred with Michael Caine and Cathy Tyson; this particular role pushed-up Bob’s popularity considerably, which resulted in new successful roles, including in “The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne” (1987), “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (1988), and in “The Raggedy Rawney” (1988) – his net worth was very healthy.
Looking to build on the success from previous decade, Bob, now an established actor, was able to find new work without any trouble, as producers and directors never stopped calling him, not only in the ‘90s, but until the end of his career. Some of his most successful films from the ‘90s include “Mermaids” (1990) – in which he played Lou Landsky – with Cher and Winona Ryder, then “The Inner Circle” (1991), starring Tom Hulce, and Lolita Davidovich, followed by “Nixon” (1995) playing J. Edgar Hoover to Anthony Hopkins’ Nixon. “TwentyFourSeven” (1997), and “Felicia’s Journey” (1999) rounded out the decade, all of which added a significant amount to Bob’s wealth.
He began the ‘2000s with the portrayal of Panamanian general Manuel Antonio ‘Tony’ Noriega in the drama film “Noriega: God’s Favorite” (2000), then he was Sancho Panza in the adventurous romantic comedy “Don Quixote”, based on the novel by Miguel de Cervantes, and in 2003 he played Pope John XXIII in the biopic “The Good Pope: Pope John XXIII”. The following year, he was a cast member of the musical drama “Beyond the Sea”, while in 2005 he appeared in the musical comedy-drama “Mrs Henderson Presents”, with Judi Dench and Kelly Reilly, and then in 2006 was one of the stars of the biopic about the death of George Reeves, “Hollywoodland”, with Adrien Brody, Ben Affleck and Diane Lane. Before retiring from acting, Bob had several more notable appearances, such as Geppetto in the adventure drama “Pinocchio” (2008), then as Albert Passingham in the drama “Made in Dagenham” (2010), and as Muir in the newest screening of the popular story of Snow White, “Snow White and the Huntsman” (2012). After finishing this film, Bob retired from acting, mostly due to being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease back in 2011.
Regarding his personal life, Bob Hoskins was married to his second wife, Linda Banwell, from 1982 – the couple had two children. Before Linda, Bob was married to Jane Livesey (1967-78) with whom he also had two children. Bob passed away on 29 April 2014 at a hospital in London at the age 71. In addition to Parkinson’s disease he was also suffering from pneumonia which quickened his death.
Cannes Best Actor Award, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture – Drama, British Independent Film Award – The Richard Harris Award, International Emmy Award for Best Performance by an Actor, New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best A...
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Actor, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role,...
Movies
Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Long Good Friday, Mona Lisa, Hook, Snow White and the Huntsman, Mermaids, Mrs Henderson Presents, Made in Dagenham, Felicia's Journey, Unleashed, Enemy at the Gates, Last Orders, Super Mario Bros., A Christmas Carol, Hollywoodland, Doomsday, The Cotton Club, Heart Condit...
TV Shows
Pennies from Heaven, The Crezz, Softly, Softly: Taskforce, New Scotland Yard, The Street, Big Jim And The Figaro Club, Thick as Thieves, The Main Chance, Värsta språket, Sir Yellow, The Hollywood Greats, Performance (UK), Shoulder to Shoulder, The Englishman's Boy, Kate
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Trademark
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Short stature
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Frequently played grouchy, short-tempered characters
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Gravelly voice and strong cockney accent.
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Quote
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[on moving in middle-class circles] There are four types of reaction. They lock up the silver. They talk to you slowly like you're an idiot. They think Hamlet in a cockney accent is the funniest thing in the world. Or they tell you most of their friends are working class and some are even black.
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[asked why he did a much-maligned series of adverts for British Telecom] For 500,000 reasons, all of them with the Queen's head on.
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[on what song he would like played at his funeral] Play what you like, I won't be there.
There was a time when people said, "You've got to speak like you don't, walk like you don't, be like you aren't." I said, "Ere, 'ang on, who am I? I'd be lost if I did that. I'd be disappearing. I'd be ectoplasm!".
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[in his last-ever interview in August 2012] My greatest pleasure in life is a completely appointment-less day with nothing to do. It means I can read a book, listen to the radio and do exactly as I wish. If you are going to do a film properly you have to give yourself completely to it. You can't slip in and slip out again. You give it the business. My diary now is free, completely free. That's the way I like it. I only do what I want to do.
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It's funny, going in a pub now and there's no smoke. It may be healthier but it doesn't feel right. Even the beer tastes different.
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Family's all I've got. I've got money, yeah, but it's my family that I care about.
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Acting is a lark but I'm trying to work less. They say: "Bob I know you're trying to retire but we've got a little swan song here which is the business..." and I get talked into it. The more you don't want to work, the more work you get. I want to be at home with the wife, but she doesn't want me to retire, she wants me out of the house.
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[on Method acting] Method is a load of bollocks.
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I realized one day that men are emotional cripples. We can't express ourselves emotionally, we can only do it with anger and humor. Emotional stability and expression comes from women. When they have babies they say "hello, you're welcome" and they mean it. It is an emotional honesty.
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[on the acting profession] I came into this business uneducated, dyslexic, 5ft 6in, cubic, with a face like a squashed cabbage and they welcomed me with open arms.
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[on Neil Jordan] I think Neil is a magician. And I believe in magic.
[on Robert De Niro] De Niro has only shown me kindness. He's a real friend. He's helped me shop for my wife's and my kids' Christmas presents. He's invited me round to meet his granny and he's come to my house for a pot-luck dinner. That really knocked my wife out. I think she was finally impressed with me.
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The worst thing I ever did? Super Mario Bros. (1993). It was a f**kin' nightmare. The whole experience was a nightmare. It had a husband-and-wife team directing, whose arrogance had been mistaken for talent. After so many weeks, their own agent told them to get off the set! F**kin' nightmare. F**kin' idiots.
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You reach a point where the cameo is the governor. You go in there for a couple of weeks, you're paid a lot of money, everybody treats you like the crown jewels, you're in and out, and if the film's a load of shit, nobody blames you, y'knowwhadimean. It's wonderful.
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You don't end up with a face like this if you're hard, do ya? This comes from having too much mouth and nothing to back it up with. The nose has been broken so many times.
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I've watched films and even forgotten I'm in them.
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My own mum wouldn't call me pretty.
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When you get to my age, what you want is the cameo. You get paid a lot of money. You fly in for a couple of weeks. Everybody treats you like the crown jewels. It's all great and if the film turns out to be a load of shit, nobody blames you.
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Most dictators were short, fat, middle-aged and hairless. Besides Danny DeVito, there's only me to play them.
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[in 1988] My life has taken off - my life, my career - everything. I can honestly say I've never been happier. I'm walking around thinking any minute now, 25 tons of horseshit is going to fall on my head.
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On getting his first role: I was three parts pissed. We were going to a party. And this bloke comes around and says: "Right. You're next. Have you seen the script?" And I got the leading part.
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Fact
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Was considered for the role of The Penguin in Batman Returns.
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Bob's body was cremated. His urn was given to his wife, Linda.
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Was the only child of a bookkeeper and nursery school teacher.
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Was the original choice to play Buster Edwards in Buster (1988), but the filmmakers decided the role of a cockney villain was too close to roles he had played before in The Long Good Friday (1980) and Mona Lisa (1986), so singer Phil Collins was cast instead.
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His acting career began in 1969 at the Unity Theatre. One evening, he was waiting in the Unity Theatre bar for his friend, the actor Roger Frost, to finish an audition. Whilst drinking at the bar, he was given a script and told "You're next.".
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Did not start acting until he was 26 years old.
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Attempted a three-year accounting course, but dropped out.
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Worked as a porter, lorry driver and window cleaner before he discovered acting.
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Spent a short period of time volunteering at Kibbutz Zikim in Israel when he was age 25.
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All the lines of the character Wermit in the film In Search of La Che (2011) are all quotes of Bob Hoskins.
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(August 8, 2012) Announced his retirement from acting after the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease in Autumn 2011.
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He played the role of Smee, Captain Hook's right hand man, in both Hook (1991) and Neverland (2011).
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The first record he bought was "Your Eyes Are the Eyes of a Woman in Love" by Frankie Laine. He was a huge fan of jazz music and his favorite albums include "Kind of Blue" by Miles Davis and "Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross!".
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He was friends with actor/gangster John Bindon and gave a character reference at his Old Bailey murder trial. Bindon was acquitted.
In his earlier years before acting, he wound up looking after camels in Syria and later packing fruit on a kibbutz in Israel, among many other odd jobs.
Was considered for the role of Senator Ralph Owen Brewster in The Aviator (2004), before Alan Alda was cast.
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Attended and graduated from the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England.
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Spent several seasons with the Royal National Theatre and the Old Vic Theatre in London, where his credits included everything from a range of Shakespeare to Chechov to Shaw.
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He was awarded the 1982 Critics' Circle Theatre Awards (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actor of 1981 for his performance in "Guys and Dolls" and "True West".
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His grandmother was a Romani (Gypsy). His film, The Raggedy Rawney (1988), was based on stories his grandmother used to tell him.
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Described himself as "Five-foot-six and cubic". He once described his face as looking like squashed cabbage.
He was Brian De Palma's second choice for the role of Al Capone in The Untouchables (1987) if Robert De Niro was not available. Hoskins was reportedly given a six-figure paycheck by De Palma for "being a great standby".
$3 Million
