Michael Pennington, a senior English actor with a career in entertainment spanning over 60 years, including appearances in the Star Wars films, has died at the age of 82.
On 11 May 2026, a representative for Michael Pennington, a veteran English actor, director, and writer with nearly six decades in the entertainment industry and over 70 acting roles, announced he died on 7 May at Denville Hall in London at the age of 82.
Pennington was best known for his role as Moff Jerjerrod, the commander of the Death Star, in Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. He was also a highly successful Shakespearean actor and was honored as an honorary associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
He was also a co-founder of the English Shakespeare Company alongside theater director Michael Bogdanov.
Famous actress Miriam Margolyes paid tribute to Pennington, describing him as "a truly excellent actor, intelligent, sharp, and clear."
She added that Pennington was "an old friend from our Cambridge University days," and said, "I am deeply saddened. May your cherished memories be protected, old friend."
Michael Vivian Fyfe Pennington was born on 7 June 1943 in Cambridge, England. His entertainment career began in 1965 with a supporting role in the BBC miniseries The War of the Roses.
Throughout his career, he appeared in over 70 television and film roles, including acting alongside Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady, a film that earned her a third Academy Award for Best Actress.
The English actor was also known for working with Dame Judi Dench and her husband Michael Williams, with whom he performed in several stage productions, including King Lear.
In a 2015 interview with The Independent, Pennington said that seeing Judi Dench perform as Ophelia in the London stage production of Hamlet in 1957 inspired him to pursue a career in theater.
"There is no one like Judi. For her, acting was pure fun. She was truly incomparable," Pennington told The Independent.
Pennington also had many roles in BBC productions such as The Witches of Pendle, Oedipus The King, and the adapted version of Middlemarch.
His last credited performance was in 2022, where he voiced "The Trust" in the sci-fi series Raised by Wolves, appearing in five episodes.
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Source:bbc