23-05-23 | Ray Stevenson has unexpectedly passed at 58. The Northern Irish actor was best known for his recurring role as Volstagg in Marvel Studios’ Thor series. In addition to appearing in three Thor films, Stevenson portrayed Marvel’s Punisher in Punisher: War Zone. As of writing, the cause of his death has not been made public. Stevenson was filming in Italy and was to celebrate his 59th birthday in four days.
Ray Stevenson studied drama at the Bristol Old Vic. In 2008 he landed his first lead role in a feature film: agent Hunt in war bound zombie horror Outpost. Soon after he took on the role of the Punisher. Despite of its poor reception, Stevenson was asked to join the cast of Thor 2011, reprising his role in Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok. He also appeared in the Divergent series, establishing himself as a familiar face in fantasy cinema.
In addition to his cinematic endeavours, Stevenson appeared in many TV series with a historical setting, such as Rome, Vikings and Black Sails in which he played the dreaded Blackbeard. Having already done voicework for Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars the Clone Wars, Stevenson contributed to Ahsoka in 2022. His first live action role in a Star Wars series, former Jedi Baylan Skoll, will be released posthumously in 2023.