Ewen MacIntosh, British Office Star That Portrayed Keith, Dead At 50
Ewen MacIntosh, former star of the British comedy show "The Office," died on February 19 at the age of 50, per The New York Times. The cause of his death has not been revealed as of yet, but his management company shared that MacIntosh had not been well health-wise for two years. "With great sadness we announce the peaceful passing of our beloved comedy genius Ewen MacIntosh. His family thank all who supported him, especially Willow Green Care Home. There will be a private cremation for family & close friends soon and a celebratory memorial later in the year," JustRight Management shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The actor is known for playing Keith Bishop on "The Office," and his co-star Ricky Gervais tweeted, "Extremely sad news. The very funny and very lovely Ewen Macintosh, known to many as "Big Keith" from The Office, has passed away. An absolute original. RIP."
Ewen MacIntosh hinted at having health problems years prior
Two years before his death, Ewen MacIntosh gave an indication that all wasn't well with him. In February 2022, he shared a picture of himself in what appeared to be a hospital bed and wrote, "Bad times for me I'm afraid chums. [Stay] strong out there." Fans wished MacIntosh well and made references to his character's love of Scotch eggs. "Let me know where you are, I'll send scotch eggs. X," one replied. "Where should I send the edible arrangement of scotch eggs?" another wrote. Over the course of his time on "The Office," MacIntosh ate a lot of the fried hard-boiled egg. In an interview with Vice, he shared, "My first scene with Martin [Freeman], where I eat the Scotch egg — we had trouble doing that for some reason. It took ages to get that done. I got through a lot of Scotch eggs."
While MacIntosh has endeared himself to "The Office" fans for his portrayal of Keith Bishop, he had a successful career following the end of the show. He reunited with Ricky Gervais for the Netflix show "After Life" with a brief cameo as a man who gets thrown out of an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant. "I think a lot of actors do get type-cast one way or another. You kind of, you have to play to your strengths really," MacIntosh told Actors Anonymous UK in 2021. He added with the humor fans have grown to love, "We can't all be Benedict Cumberbatch, you know."