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.
Leave a Comment