Actor Tom Noonan, best known for his collaborations with Michael Mann, has died at the age of 74.
His death was confirmed by Fred Dekker, director of the 80s comedy horror The Monster Squad, in which Noonan played Frankenstein’s Monster.
“It is with great sadness that I share the passing of Tom Noonan,” he wrote on Facebook. “Tom Cheragani’s indelible performance as Frankenstein in The Monster Squad is a highlight of my modest filmography … He was the proverbial gentleman and scholar, and the world has lost a great talent.”
What Happened Was…, a film Noonan wrote, directed and starred in, based on Noonan’s play, also drew tributes on social media. “What a privilege and crazy fun to work with this guy and call him my friend until the end,” she wrote.
The film won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1994.
Noonan began his career in Off-Broadway theater, starring in the original production of Sam Shepard’s Buried Child before turning to film in the 1980s. One of his first roles was in Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate and he appeared in the Tom Hanks comedy The Man With One Red Shoe and the action thriller F/X.
In 1986, he worked with Mann in the Thomas Harris adaptation Manhunter, playing serial killer Francis Dollarhyde.
“I earned quite a bit from my acting, but I was really poor and depressed, and it was a real part,” Noonan later said in an interview. “I turned it down five times. I wanted to pay more than they were willing to pay me. They wanted to pay me $35,000 to make this whole movie. That was back in 1985, but I said: ‘I’m not doing it for less than $100,000.’ My agent said, ‘You’re crazy.’ Somehow, they ended up paying me that much.
Noonan later reunited with Mann for 1995’s Heat.
His credits also include Robocop 2, Last Action Hero, The Astronaut’s Wife, The Pledge, The House of the Devil and Eight Legged Freaks. He also made two films with Charlie Kaufman: Synecdoche, New York and Anomalisa, where he voiced all the supporting characters. Noonan’s last big screen credit was Todd Haynes’ fantasy Wonderstruck opposite Michelle Williams.
On the small screen, Noonan has appeared in shows such as The X-Files, The Leftovers, Damages and The Blacklist.
Noonan said in 1994, “I’ve always been a very quiet person, and sarcastic and subtle, and a lot of the parts I get to play are these loudmouth maniacs.
As well as What Happened Was…, Noonan also wrote the play Wife, which he later adapted into the film The Wife.
