Ray Stevenson – RRR, Thor and Star Wars actor – dies aged 58

Northern Irish actor, who often played warriors in productions including Rome and Vikings, was hospitalised suddenly while filming in Italy

Ray Stevenson, the Northern Irish actor who played the villainous British governor in RRR, Volstagg in the Thor films and a main antagonist in the upcoming Star Wars series Ahsoka, has died aged 58.

Representatives for Stevenson said he had died on Sunday, four days before his birthday. The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported he had been hospitalised with a sudden illness on the island of Ischia, while in production on the film Cassino in Ischia.