The British actor was nominated for two Academy Awards, for The Elephant Man and Midnight Express, and won four Bafta Awards, including a lifetime achievement recognition for his outstanding contribution to British cinema in 2012. “No one could have played The Elephant Man more memorably.

The British actor was nominated for two Academy Awards, for The Elephant Man and Midnight Express, and won four Bafta Awards, including a lifetime achievement recognition for his outstanding contribution to British cinema in 2012. At the time of his diagnosis in June 2015 he told the Press Association: ”I have always been open about the way in which I conduct my life and in that spirit I would like to make a statement.