David Bowie has been remembered for his prolific movie career.
The ‘Starman’ hitmaker died following a secret battle with cancer yesterday (10.01.16) and is being remembered for not just his influential chart success, but also for his contribution to the films he made from the late 1970s to the early ’80s.
The British star’s first leading role was in the 1976 science fiction film ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’, in which he payed an extraterrestrial who comes to Earth in search of water to save his home planet but develops human technology and falls in love with a shy hotel clerk.
Bowie won the Saturn Award for Best Actor for his efforts and later said of playing the part: "I actually was feeling as alienated as that character was. It was a pretty natural performance."
Bowie’s next main role was in 1983 movie ‘The Hunger’, which followed small stints in ‘Just a Gigolo’ (1979) and 1981 German film ‘Christiane F’.
The part-time actor played the dying lover of an irresistible vampire (Catherine Denevue) who sets her sights on a younger lover, portrayed by Susan Sarandon and the film generated a cult following and spawned a TV series in 1997.
That same year Bowie took the role of a prisoner of war held in a Japanese camp in ‘The Seed and the Sower’ and he later revealed that it was one of his favourite ever movie parts.
The historical drama was offered to him after a run on Broadway in his acclaimed tenure as ‘The Elephant Man’ and Bowie became a sought after actor, famously turning down the chance to play Bond villain Max Zorin in ‘A View to a Kill’.
However his most famous role was arguably as the Goblin King Jareth in 1986 fantasy epic ‘Labyrinth’.
Despite being a flop initially, the film gained traction and a cult following, with director Jim Henson stating that Bowie was cast for having: "A certain maturity, with his sexuality, his disturbing aspect, all sorts of things that characterise the adult world."
A stream of tributes have flooded in for the cultural icon.
His co-star in 2006 movie ‘The Prestige’ Hugh Jackman wrote on Twitter: "We have lost a legend. To David’s family… All our love.(sic)"
While ‘Gladiator’ star Russell Crowe remembered him as "one of the greatest performance artists" ever.
He posted: "RIP David. I loved your music. I loved you. One of the greatest performance artists to have ever lived. #sorrow"
And hours after hosting the Golden Globe Awards, Ricky – who convinced his reclusive idol to appear on his 2006 sitcom ‘Extras’ – was mourning the passing of his "hero".
He tweeted: "I just lost a hero. RIP David Bowie."
Speaking of his impact on popular culture, Bowie once said: "I wanted to be a trendy person, not a trend. I wanted to be the instigator of new ideas and wanted to turn people onto new perspectives. I always wanted to be that catalyst."
David Bowie’s prolific movie career
