Stage and screen star Joss Ackland has died aged 95

Joss Ackland has died aged 95, a statement from his family has confirmed.

Born in 1928 in North Kensington, Ackland had a career that began in the 1940s, and appeared alongside Maggie Smith, Judi Dench and more at the Old Vic.

Over the years, he performed in a notable number of productons, including Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music in 1975, while he also originated the role of Juan Perón in Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Evita on stage, opposite Elaine Paige.

Notable stage shows featuring Ackland include The Visit at Chichester Festival Theatre,while in 2013, Ackland starred as the titular character in a reading of King Lear at the Old Vic, directed by Jonathan Miller.

n the film realm, he played roles such as Devlin in Theatre of Blood (1973), Ambassador Andrei Lysenko in The Hunt for Red October (1990), and Arjen Rudd in Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), alongside Hans in The Mighty Ducks (1992) and Gilbert Colville in White Mischief (1987).

On the television front, Ackland made appearances in iconic series such as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy, Z-Cars, Shadowlands (playing C S Lewis) and The Man Who Lived at the Ritz. He also appeared in the West End premiere of The King’s Speech, photographed above.