Alan Arkin, Academy Award-winning actor, dies at 89

Veteran film and stage actor Alan Arkin has died at 89. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe as well as a Tony Award. The cause of death hasn’t been revealed yet. (Also Read: Glenda Jackson, two-time Oscar winning actor, dies at 87)

Alan’s sons confirmed the news

Alan Arkin’s sons Adam, Matthew and Antony offered a joint statement on the family’s behalf to People. “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed,” the statement read as quoted by People Magazine.

Alan’s most recent role

Alan Arkin most recently appeared in a recurring co-lead role alongside Michael Douglas, 78, in the Netflix dramedy series The Kominsky Method. He earned nominations in the Best Supporting Actor category at Emmy Awards, Screen Actor Guild Awards and Golden Globe Awards across the series run time from 2019 to 2022. Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin played longtime friends in The Kominsky Method.

In the concluding third season of the popular show, Alan’s character Norman Newlander dies, putting an end to his character arc in the storyline. Alan said that he quit the show because he wanted to keep himself away from the stress embedded in showbiz.

He told The Guardian, “I’m like a horse going down the trail. Acting is so ingrained in my physiognomy and the channels of my brain that I find myself missing aspects of the business. But I don’t need it anymore. I should probably get over it. The less work I get, the better my health. The stress in the marketplace is enormous and my system has a fast reaction. I can’t deal with stress anymore.”

A long, illustrious career

Alan made his Hollywood debut way back in 1957 with Calypso Heat Wave. His most memorable films include Little Miss Sunshine, for which he won an Oscar in the Best Supporting Role category for a part with merely 15 minutes of runtime. The 2006 tragicomedy road film also starred Steve Carell and Tony Collette. Alan also famously appeared in Million Dollar Arm, Marley & Me, and voiced the character of Wild Knuckles in Minions: The Rise of Gru as his last film role.