Superhero Movie Actors You May Not Know Died

Unlike the indomitable characters portrayed onscreen, the actors who appear in many of our favorite superhero films are, alas, mere mortals.  A surprising number of notable stars who have graced these movies have passed on, some sadly under the radar.  While the deaths of Christopher Reeve, Heath Ledger, and Chadwick Boseman were widely covered, other actors' deaths did not register as breaking news (with the onslaught of 24/7 news coverage, they could have just been another story on a busy day).

These performers were not the main stars of the films they were in, but as often is the case with supporting roles, they added a lot of depth and nuance typical of great character actors. There is a reason they are called supporting actors.

With the reverence deserving of any superhero, we take a look at some of these beloved players who we feel should be remembered for not only their contributions to the superhero world but their overall lives and careers.

Michael Clarke Duncan's breakthrough role in Frank Darabont's "The Green Mile" earned him an Oscar nomination for his memorable performance as a hulking yet gentle death row prisoner with magical powers. He appeared in Marvel Comics' "Daredevil" as the crime lord Kingpin, the voice of Commander Vachir in "Kung Fu Panda," and the voice of Kilowog in the DC Comics film "Green Lantern." 

At 6-foot-5, it's not surprising that Chicago native Duncan's entry into show business was as a bodyguard when he moved to L.A. Among those he protected were Jamie Foxx, Martin Lawrence, and Will Smith. However, even when he was employed as a ditch digger, he had dreams of becoming an actor. His colleagues nicknamed him "Hollywood," but as Duncan later said to CNN, "Those coworkers had no way of knowing how that joke would turn on them."

Duncan suffered a heart attack on July 13, 2012 and was rushed to Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He remained hospitalized until his death on September 3, 2012 from respiratory failure. He was 54 years old. News of Duncan's passing was met with many tributes friends and colleagues. Duncan's "Green Mile" co-star Tom Hanks told ET, "He was magic. He was a big love of man and his passing leaves us stunned." Michael Strahan tweeted, "RIP to my friend Michael Clarke Duncan. A kind and gentle Giant."

Miguel Ferrer was Hollywood royalty, the son of Oscar-winning actor José Ferrer and actress-singer Rosemary Clooney (his first cousin is George Clooney). His pedigree was likely responsible for his love of music and acting (he played drums as a teen before studying theater).

He first gained movie audiences' attention in Paul Verhoeven's 1987 "RoboCop" as the seedy executive at the megacorporation who heads the RoboCop program. He later appeared in "Iron Man 3" as the U.S. vice president. Ferrer also had roles in notable films such as Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic," John Sayles' "Sunshine State," and Jonathan Demme's 2004 remake of "The Manchurian Candidate."

Ferrer was a devoted comic book fan, so much so that he and friend Bill Mumy created their own graphic novel for Marvel Comics in the 1980s called "The Dreamwalker."  Ferrer died from throat cancer on January 19, 2017 in Santa Monica at age 61. George Clooney issued a statement saying, "Miguel made the world brighter and funnier and his passing is felt so deeply in our family that events of the day ... pale in comparison. We love you Miguel. We always will."

John Hurt was a classically trained British actor who audiences remember best for his chest-popping scene-stealer in "Alien" and his moving turn as the tragically disfigured real-life John Merrick in David Lynch's "The Elephant Man." Always willing to embrace offbeat roles, Hurt received much critical praise for playing the real-life eccentric writer Quentin Crisp in the 1975 British TV movie "The Naked Civil Servant." He later reprised the role in the 2009 feature film "An Englishman in New York," which chronicled the flamboyant Crisp's final years in New York City.

He received Oscar nominations for his supporting role in 1978's "Midnight Express" and leading performance in "The Elephant Man" in 1980.  Both films earned Hurt BAFTA Awards. Hurt's later career saw him as Professor Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm in 2004's "Hellboy" and Adam Sutler in "V for Vendetta" in 2006, as well as the wandmaker Garrick Ollivander in the "Harry Potter" franchise.

Hurt died at age 77 from pancreatic cancer on January 25, 2017. Mel Brooks, whose Brooksfilms Ltd. produced "The Elephant Man," tweeted, "No one could have played The Elephant Man more memorably. He carried that film into cinematic immortality. He will be sorely missed."

Before Michael Caine earned a new generation of fans as Bruce Wayne's loyal servant, Michael Gough played the role in Tim Burton's 1989 "Batman." Gough's Alfred Pennyworth was understated yet witty, although not as critical to the film as Caine was in the "Dark Knight" series.

In the first "Batman" and its 1992 sequel "Batman Returns," Gough was butler to Michael Keaton. In the two sequels that followed, he served at the pleasure of Val Kilmer in 1995's "Batman Forever" and George Clooney in 1997's "Batman & Robin."

Gough studied acting at the legendary Old Vic in London and later performed in a number of plays in the West End, including playing Laertes opposite Alec Guinness' "Hamlet" in 1951.  Gough died on March 17, 2011 at age 94 from pneumonia at his home in the U.K. "To Mick — my butler, my confidant, my friend, my Alfred," Michael Keaton said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "I love you. God bless."

Ever since his 1962 film debut in "Lawrence of Arabia," Peter O'Toole was the epitome of cinematic class and charisma. He holds the less than flattering distinction of being the most Oscar-nominated actor without winning (although after eight nominations the Academy did bestow him an honorary Oscar in 2003). O'Toole ventured into the superhero world in a minor role as Zaltar in 1984's "Supergirl," which was a critical and box office failure, although Helen Slater as Superman's titular cousin received some positive notices.

O'Toole's long screen career was often overshadowed by stories (many of his own telling) of his love of drink. He was good friends with Richard Harris and Peter Finch. They relished playing pranks on each other and imbibing well into the morning hours. YouTube is replete with many of O'Toole's appearances on David Letterman's late night show, where he recounted many of these tales. (When a Dublin bar owner told him and Finch they were cut off and had to leave, they bought the bar on the spot!) Not only a magnificent actor, O'Toole was a first-rate raconteur. He died in London following a long illness on December 14, 2013. He was 81.

A rugged and relatable actor who could carry a picture on his own as easily as playing key supporting parts, Roy Scheider appeared in a number of acclaimed films in the 1970s, including "Jaws," "The French Connection," and "All That Jazz," the latter two earning him Oscar nominations. Scheider played the father of Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) in 2004's "The Punisher," based on a character that appeared in a 1974 Marvel Comics edition of "The Amazing Spider-Man."

Scheider's other film credits include "Klute" with Jane Fonda in 1971, "Marathon Man" in 1976 with Dustin Hoffman, 1982's "Still of the Night" with Meryl Streep, and "2010," the 1984 sequel to Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey." In the 1990s, he played submarine captain Nathan Bridger in the sci-fi series "SeaQuest DSV," which ran three seasons on NBC.  Scheider died after a long illness with multiple myeloma on February 10, 2008 at age 75.

Max von Sydow was one of the great stars of Swedish cinema who became familiar to American audiences in such films as 1965's "The Greatest Story Ever Told," "The Exorcist" in 1973, and the 1980 space opera "Flash Gordon," in which he played Ming the Merciless, the villainous emperor of the planet Mongo. With a bald head and Fu Manchu beard, von Sydow dominated the "Flash Gordon" movie poster and strayed from his serious art house credits to become part of the campy spectacle (with a soundtrack by Queen no less).

Von Sydow was best known for his collaborations with the legendary Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, appearing in 11 of his films, most notably "The Seventh Seal" and "Wild Strawberries" and later works like "The Virgin Spring," "Through a Glass Darkly," and "Winter Light."

He received Oscar nominations for his leading role in "Pelle the Conqueror" and supporting turn in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close." Among his best American work was as part of the ensemble cast of Woody Allen's 1986 "Hannah and Her Sisters" as a misanthropic artist keeping house with a much younger woman (Barbara Hershey) who is cheating on him with her brother-in-law (Michael Caine). Von Sydow died in Provence, France (no cause of death was announced) on March 8, 2020 at age 90.