30 Great Posthumous Performances

Gridlock'd (1997)

The Actor: Tupac Shakur as Ezekiel 'Spoon' Whitmore

Rest In Peace: The 25-year-old rapper's burgeoning career in music and film was cut short when Tupac was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting on 13th September 1996.

The Legacy: One of three films released after Tupac's murder, Gridlock'd best showcased his range as an actor, holding his own against Tim Roth in the serio-comic tale of two recovering heroin addicts.

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

The Actor: Vic Morrow as Bill Connor

Rest In Peace: In one of Hollywood's most shocking on-set accidents, on 23rd July 1982, 53-year-old Morrow - plus child actors Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen - were killed by a falling helicopter while filming a John Landis-directed scene for the movie.

The Legacy: Inevitably, the controversy (which saw Landis and others put on trial for manslaughter) has obscured Morrow's strong performance as a bigot sent back in time to experience various forms of persecution.

Les Demoiselles De Rochefort (1967)

The Actor: Françoise Dorléac as Solange

Rest In Peace: The 25-year-old elder sister of Catherine Deneuve was just as big a star when she fatally crashed her Renault 10 on 26th June 1967.

The Legacy: Starring alongside her sister, Dorléac brings typically Gallic elegance and charm to the role of the music teacher falling in and out of love.

From Russia With Love (1963)

The Actor: Pedro Armendáriz as Kerim Bey

Rest In Peace: Terminally ill with cancer, Armendáriz only took the role to provide money for his family after his death. He was so ill throughout the shoot that director Terence Young had to double for him where possible, and the 51-year-old Mexican star eventually shot himself on 18th June 1963.

The Legacy: Regardless of his motivation for playing in a James Bond movie, Armendáriz brings such charm and panache to the role that he's the benchmark for all future friends of 007.

Enough Said (2013)

The Actor: James Gandolfini as Albert

Rest In Peace: The 51-year-old Sopranos star died of a heart attack during a trip to Rome on 19th June 2013.

The Legacy: Nicole Holofcener's rom-com garnered praise for its nuanced take on the genre, with Gandolfini in particular providing a fitting reminder of his versatility beyond his hard-man reputation by playing a softer character.

Nobody's Fool (1994)

The Actor: Jessica Tandy as Beryl Peoples

Rest In Peace: Tandy's late-career, Oscar-winning renaissance continued up to her death, aged 85, of ovarian cancer on 11th September 1994.

The Legacy: Released three months after her death, Nobody's Fool saw Tandy reprise her familiar cantankerous, doesn't-suffer-fools persona but gave her a suitable foil in the form of Oscar-nominated Paul Newman as an OAP behaving badly.

The Deer Hunter (1978)

The Actor: John Cazale as Stanley

Rest In Peace: Already diagnosed with lung cancer when he took the role, Cazale was nursed through the shoot by co-star/girlfriend Meryl Streep and died, aged 42, on 12th March 1978.

The Legacy: When The Deer Hunter dominated Oscar season, it cemented Cazale's short career as one of the finest in screen history. He made just five films in his lifetime, each nominated for Best Picture (and three of them actually winning it).

Il Postino (1995)

The Actor: Massimo Troisi as Mario Ruoppolo

Rest In Peace: A renowned actor and director in his native Italy, Troisi decided to film Il Postino against medical advice. Sadly, his decision to postpone heart surgery proved fatal - he died of a heart attack on 4th June 1994, aged 41.

The Legacy: His final film was an international hit, thanks largely to Troisi's charming lead performance, which earned him a posthumous Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? (1967)

The Actor: Spencer Tracy as Matt Drayton

Rest In Peace: On 10th June 1967, 17 days after completing the film, Tracy suffered a fatal heart attack, aged 67.

The Legacy: A star until the end, Tracy earned a ninth nomination as Best Actor, a record since equalled by Laurence Olivier but never beaten.

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (2002)

The Actor: Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore

Rest In Peace: The Irish legend had completed the first two Harry Potter films when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease in August 2002. He died two months later on 25th October, aged 72.

The Legacy: Harris had been sceptical about taking on such a big franchise role, and only relented to please his granddaughter. Despite his worries that "I don't just want to be remembered for being in those bloody films," the adulation he received for playing Dumbledore befitted his place amongst the acting greats.