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Robert Forster death: Bryan Cranston leads tribute to Breaking Bad and Jackie Brown star

Actor has been described by friends and former co-stars as ‘warm and loving’ and ‘a consummate actor’

Roisin O'Connor
Saturday 12 October 2019 09:08 BST
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El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie - trailer

Bryan Cranston has led the tributes to his Breaking Bad co-star Robert Forster, after the actor passed away aged 78.

Forster’s latest work, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, has just been released when he died, shortly after being diagnosed with brain cancer.

Born in Rochester, New York, Forster appeared in the Breaking Bad series as well as the film, David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks, and Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown alongside Samuel L Jackson, Pam Grier and Robert De Niro.

“I’m saddened today by the news that Robert Forster has passed away,” Cranston wrote. “A lovely man and a consummate actor. I met him on the movie Alligator 40 years ago, and then again on BB. I never forgot how kind and generous he was to a young kid just starting out in Hollywood. RIP Bob.”

His Jackie Brown co-star Samuel L Jackson tweeted that Forster was “truly a class act/Actor!!”

Writer and director Edgar Wright said: “So sad to hear of Robert Forster’s passing. Am of the right age to have been obsessed by The Black Hole (I even had an action figure of Capt. Holland) and Alligator. Then I was just wowed by him in Jackie Brown. He’s also heartbreaking in recent What They Had. A great actor. RIP.”

The Academy tweeted: “With more than 100 film credits spanning six decades, Robert Forster was a prolific talent who radiated warmth and kindness in everything he did. In 1998, he earned an Oscar nomination for his performance in Jackie Brown. Thank you, Robert, for all that you’ve given us.”

Forster is survived by his partner Denise Grayson. children Bobby, Elizabeth, Kate and Maeghen and four grandchildren.

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