Robert William “Bob” Hoskins, Jr.(26 October 1942 – 29 April 2014) was an English actor known for playing Cockneys and gangsters. He appeared in films such as The Long Good Friday (1980), Mona Lisa (1986), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Mermaids (1990), Hook (1991), Nixon (1995), A Christmas Carol (2009), Neverland (2011) and in his final role in Snow White and the Huntsman (2012).

Hoskins’ father was a communist and brought up Hoskins to be an atheist.^[12] In 1967, aged 25, Hoskins spent a short period of time volunteering in kibbutz Zikim in Israel,^[13][14] and also herded camels in Syria.^[15] In an interview, when asked what he owed his parents, he said, “Confidence. My mum used to say to me, ‘If somebody doesn’t like you, fuck ‘em, they’ve got bad taste.'”^[16] When asked which living person he most despised, Hoskins named Tony Blair and claimed that “he’s done even more damage than Thatcher”.He made light of his similarities with film actor Danny DeVito, who he joked would play him in a film about his life.^[16]On 8 August 2012, Hoskins announced his retirement from acting due to Parkinson’s disease.With his first wife Jane Livesey, Hoskins had two children, Alex (born 1968) and Sarah (born 1972). With his second wife Linda Banwell, he had two more children, Rosa (born 1983) and Jack (born 1986).