Rebecca Cook
Published November 29, 2025 5:22pm
Updated November 29, 2025 5:47pm
Share this article via whatsappShare this article via xCopy the link to this article.Link is copiedShare this article via facebook
Comment now
Comments
The news of Sir Tom Stoppard’s death has been confirmed by his agents (Picture: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)
The renowned playwright Sir Tom Stoppard has died at the age of 88.
The theatre legend won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the screenplay for Shakespeare in Love, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes and Dame Judi Dench.
The news of Sir Tom’s death was confirmed in a statement from his agents.
‘We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved client and friend, Tom Stoppard, has died peacefully at home in Dorset, surrounded by his family.
‘He will be remembered for his works, for their brilliance and humanity, and for his wit, his irreverence, his generosity of spirit and his profound love of the English language.
‘It was an honour to work with Tom and to know him,’ the United Agents statement concluded.
Sir Tom earned an Oscar and a Golden Globe (Picture: Mark Sullivan/WireImage)
His career as a playwright did not take off until the 1960s with Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead (Picture: THA/REX/Shutterstock)
Born in Czechoslovakia, Sir Tom was forced to flee his home during the Nazi occupation and found refuge in Britain.
The dazzling playwright established himself as one of the greats of the theatre world with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, a play based on two peripheral characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
An Edinburgh Fringe success story, the play was developed from the 1966 festival and eventually staged by the National Theatre. It went on to earn four Tonys in 1968, including the gong for best play.
Over his six-decade career, he earned several Tony and Olivier awards, as well as a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for his co-written 1998 screenplay Shakespeare In Love.
He was knighted by the late Queen for his services to literature (Picture: PA)
He penned over 30 plays for the theatre, with works including Indian Ink and the semi-autobiographical Leopoldstadt, set in the Jewish quarter of early 20th-century Vienna.
More Trending
-
Netflix actor Tony Germano dies aged 55 after fatal fall
Channel: TV TV 1 day ago By Rebecca Cook - Coronation Street star Lynne Verrall, with 30 year career, dies aged 76
- Spiderman actor and Sesame Street star Danny Seagren dies aged 81
- Wycliffe star Jack Shepherd dies aged 85 after 'short illness'
His most recent plays include Heroes, Rock ‘n’ Roll and The Hard Problem.
He also maintained a steady stream of television and radio credits, but his influence on the world of the screen went beyond this. He once got out of the shower to take a call from Steven Spielberg on the set of Schindler’s List and came up with a solution to a scene the director was agonising over.
The playwright Simon Gray once joked of Sir Tom: ‘It is actually one of Tom’s achievements that one envies him nothing, except possibly his looks, his talents, his money and his luck. To be so enviable without being envied is pretty enviable, when you think about it.’
In 1997, he was knighted by the late Queen for his services to literature.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
Arrow MORE: Netflix actor Tony Germano dies aged 55 after fatal fall
Arrow MORE: First live-action Spider-Man star Danny Seagren dies aged 81
Arrow MORE: Coronation Street star Lynne Verrall, with 30 year career, dies aged 76
Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
