Ī chance encounter with Henry Baynton, a well-known provincial Shakespearean actor, helped Holm train for admission to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he secured a place from 1950. His parents retired to Mortehoe in Devon and then to Worthing, where he joined an amateur dramatic society. Holm was educated at the independent Chigwell School in Essex. He had an older brother, who died when Ian was 12 years old. His father was a psychiatrist who worked as the superintendent of the West Ham Corporation Mental Hospital and was one of the pioneers of electric shock therapy his mother was a nurse. Ian Holm Cuthbert was born on 12 September 1931 in Goodmayes, Essex, to Scottish parents, James Harvey Cuthbert and his wife Jean Wilson (née Holm). He also voiced Chef Skinner in the Pixar animated film Ratatouille (2007). He gained wider appreciation for his role as the elderly Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. Other notable film roles include in Alien (1979), Brazil (1985), Henry V (1989), The Madness of King George (1994), The Fifth Element (1997), The Sweet Hereafter (1997), and The Aviator (2004). He received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination and a BAFTA Award win for his role as athletics trainer Sam Mussabini in Chariots of Fire (1981).

He gained acclaim for his role in The Bofors Gun (1968) winning the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. For his television roles he received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for King Lear (1998), and the HBO film The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2003). He won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role in the 1998 West End production of King Lear. Holm won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in the Harold Pinter play The Homecoming. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1989 by Queen Elizabeth II. He received numerous accolades including two BAFTA Awards and a Tony Award along with nominations for an Academy Award and two Emmy Awards. Beginning his career on the British stage as a standout member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he later transitioned into a successful and prolific screen career.

Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert CBE (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor known for his roles on stage and screen.

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