Actor Bob Hoskins, who has died aged 79 — Actor Bob Hoskins, who has died aged 71. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian

Bob Hoskins, one of Britain's best-loved actors, dies aged 71

This article is more than 10 years old

Bob Hoskins, the British actor who starred in The Long Good Friday, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and many more, has died aged 71

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The actor Bob Hoskins has died aged 71. His agent said that he died on Tuesday, surrounded by his family, suffering from pneumonia. He retired in 2012 following a diagnosis with Parkinson's disease in the autumn of 2011.

One of Britain's best-loved actors, Hoskins was known for his gruff bonhomie, and career that spanned more than 30 years. He first found fame on the small screen in Dennis Potter's Pennies from Heaven, and then in cinemas as a London gangster-turned-businessman in The Long Good Friday (1980).

Hoskins had leading roles in Brazil (1985), Mona Lisa (1986), Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), Mermaids (1990) and Super Mario Bros (1993) – which he described in a 2007 Guardian interview as "the worst thing I ever did".

Many will also remember him fondly for a series of adverts shot in the late 80s and early 90s for BT with his catchphrase, "It's good to talk". He teamed up with Shane Meadows for Twenty Four Seven (1997) and A Room for Romeo Brass (2000), and winning much acclaim for his role in Atom Egoyan's Felicia's Journey (1999).

In 2005 he starred alongside Judi Dench in Stephen Frears's Mrs Henderson Presents. Dench told the Guardian: "I'm so very sorry to hear this news, and am thinking of his family at this sad time." Frears added: "He was a lovely fellow, sweet and wise. What I most remember is not the film I made with him but the sight of him as Queen Victoria in a pub show upstairs at the Royal Court. His royal profile."

The actor Kate Hardie, who worked with Hoskins on Mona Lisa, took to Twitter to pay her respects.

While Michael Caine, who starred alongside him in Last Orders, told the Guardian: "He was one of the nicest and best actors I have ever worked with." Most recently, Hoskins was seen in Made in Dagenham, Snow White and the Huntsman and Outside Bet. Eddie Marsan, who starred along side Hoskins in that film, also took to Twitter.

On the set of that film, about the Wapping newspaper dispute in the mid-80s, Hoskins told the Guardian why he kept on working: "There's always someone who rings up and says: 'Now Bob, before you go, there's a cracking little swansong for you'."