American actor Tom Noonan has died at 74. No details were released about the circumstances of his death.
Noonan, known for his restrained yet menacing presence, portrayed a long line of complex, often threatening characters. One of his most memorable roles was serial killer Francis Dolarhyde in director Michael Mann’s “Manhunter” (1986), the first adaptation of Thomas Harris’ novel “Red Dragon,” which later inspired “The Silence of the Lambs.”
Born in 1951 in New York, Noonan began his career as a stage actor. His breakthrough came in the mid-1980s with his role in “Manhunter.” He later reunited with Mann in “Heat” (1995), playing a member of Robert De Niro’s crew of thieves. During the 1990s, Noonan also appeared in “RoboCop 2” (1990) and the action film “Last Action Hero” (1993) alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, portraying the villain in both films.
In 1994, Noonan wrote and directed the independent film “What Happened Was,” in which he also starred. The film was based on his play of the same name and earned him the Grand Jury Prize and the Screenwriting Award at the Sundance Film Festival. He later appeared in director Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York” and lent his voice to Kaufman’s 2015 animated film “Anomalisa.” Noonan went on to star in numerous independent and horror films, becoming closely associated with eccentric and unsettling characters.
On television, he appeared in series including “Damages,” “Hell on Wheels” and the television adaptation of “12 Monkeys.”
Alongside his film and television career, Noonan remained closely identified with New York’s theater scene, where he began his career and to which he returned in later years. He was not married and had no children.