Albert Finney dies aged 82

The award-winning actor Albert Finney has died aged 82 following a short illness.

Born in Salford in 1936, Finney trained at RADA and started his career in theatre, becoming a member of the RSC's company in the 1950s, appearing in King Lear alongside Ian Holm, Diana Rigg and Julian Glover and A Midsummer Night's Dream with Vanessa Redgrave. He was directed by Peter Hall in Coriolanus in 1960, featuring Laurence Olivier.

Finney continued to appear on the stage throughout his career, with credits including Macbeth at the National Theatre in 1978, Sergeant Musgrave's Dance at the Old Vic in 1984 and the UK premiere of Yasmina Reza's Art at the Wyndham's Theatre. He won an Olivier Award for Orphans in 1986.

A winner of Golden Globe, Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Awards and five-time Oscar nominee, Finney's screen roles included The Dresser, Murder on the Orient Express, Scrooge and Miller's Crossing. Recently he has appeared in films such as Skyfall and The Bourne Legacy. He led the cast of the Karaoke and Cold Lazarus TV series by Dennis Potter, for which he was nominated for a BAFTA in 1996.

Tributes poured in for Finney on social media.

@wittertainment Burning has one of the great death scenes I've ever seen! Also RIP Albert Finney, one of the all time greats.

"Don't let the bastards grind ya down" #RIP pic.twitter.com/OVPesMbglG

RIP Albert Finney, one of the greats. Too many good movies, but off the top of my head he was in top form in UNDER THE VOLCANO and SHOOT THE MOON pic.twitter.com/OHZygi5lKd

a thing about Albert Finney is that no matter how old you are, you never lived through a period when he wasn't great

Just learned Albert Finney died at age 82. He starred in my favorite (the BEST) version of Scrooge in 1970. pic.twitter.com/jk7TinFVf3

We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Albert Finney. The recipient of the BAFTA Fellowship in 2001, Finney will be warmly remembered for his powerful performances in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Tom Jones, Big Fish and many more. pic.twitter.com/SwuaV84cGE

Albert Finney joins the likes of Peter O'Toole, Richard Burton, etc who never won an Oscar and deserved the honor many times over pic.twitter.com/uJu0EEnZsd