Warner died from a “cancer-related illness,” his family said in a statement shared by his talent agency with CNN. He’d been sick for 18 months, his family wrote, and “approached his diagnosis with a characteristic grace and dignity.”
“I’ve done war pictures, I’ve done Westerns, I’ve done sci-fi … I mean, I wasn’t in ‘Harry Potter,’ and I wasn’t in ‘Lord Of The Rings,’ and I haven’t been in ‘Game Of Thrones,'” he told the AV Club. “So there are those big ones that I haven’t managed to do. But that’s show biz … and, you know, I think I’ve still done okay.”
Though he often played Shakespearean heroes onstage, in films, he was often cast as the antagonist. In Disney’s landmark sci-fi flick “Tron,” he played a power-hungry executive who passed off Jeff Bridges’ ideas as his own. In “Titanic,” he conspired with Billy Zane’s antagonist to keep the central lovebirds apart as the deliciously named Spicer Lovejoy. And in Terry Gilliam’s “Time Bandits,” Warner quite literally played the role of “Evil.”
He also lent his voice to animated productions, like “Batman: The Animated Series” (as Ra’s al Ghul) and “The Amazing World of Gumball.” He said in 2017 appearing in “kids pictures,” like “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II,” was “great fun.” He also mentioned his “utmost respect for the actors in the turtle suits.”
Despite his prolific career, Warner often regarded his legacy with a lightheartedness. In the 2017 AV Club interview, Warner said that as a young person, he was “hopeless” both academically and athletically, and so he “drifted into the odd school play.”
“I’m the kind of actor where you go around, you do your best, and you see what happens,” he told the AV Club.
David Warner remembered
“So glad to have been able to express my admiration for David Warner’s incredible versatility and career in our time together on set,” Miranda wrote on Twitter. “My goodness, what a life and legacy.”
“David seemed the epitome of 1960s youth, and caught the radical spirit of a turbulent age,” said the company’s artistic director emeritus Gregory Doran. “He was a generous spirit, a kind man, and a huge talent.”
Warner is survived by his partner Lisa Bowerman, son Luke and his “many gold dust friends,” among others, his family wrote in their statement.
“He will be missed hugely by us, his family and friends, and remembered as a kind-hearted, generous and compassionate man, partner and father whose legacy of extraordinary work has touched the lives of so many over the years,” his family said.
