Born in Warrington in 1946, Postlethwaite was briefly a drama teacher before becoming an actor in the 1970s, training at the Bristol Old Vic. His career began at the Liverpool Everyman theatre where he acted alongside Jonathan Pryce, his then-girlfriend Julie Waters and Antony Sher.
In the 1980s, Postlethwaite worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and at the Royal Court. His London theatre credits also included Favourite Nights and Having A Ball at the Lyric Hammersmith, the National Theatre’s The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice, Richard II at the Phoenix theatre alongside Derek Jacobi, and The Duchess Of Malfi at the Roundhouse theatre. The actor also famously tackled the renowned one-man show Scaramouche Jones under the direction of Rupert Goold.
Postlethwaite was also well-known for his screen work, which saw him star alongside Hollywood heavyweights including actors Kevin Spacey and Leonardo DiCaprio, and work under directors Steven Spielberg – who famously named him “the best actor in the world” – and Bryan Singer.
The actor’s big break came in 1988 with Terence Davies’s film Distant Voices, Still Lives. Despite undergoing treatment for testicular cancer in 1990, his film career went from strength to strength and in 1993 the actor received an Academy Award nomination for his career-defining role as Giuseppe Conlon in In The Name Of The Father. He then went on to star in cult film The Usual Suspects, Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, The Constant Gardener, Brassed Off and, most recently, the science-fiction hit Inception.
In 2008 he returned to the Liverpool Everyman theatre to star as King Lear in Rupert Goold’s production which transferred to the Young Vic the following year.
Postlethwaite was made an OBE in 2004. He died, aged 64, after succumbing to the cancer he had battled for many years, leaving behind his wife of seven years and two children.