M Emmet Walsh: Blade Runner and Knives Out actor dies aged 88

The TV industry heard some sad news today as M Emmet Walsh’s manager confirmed the actor passed away in a hospital in Vermont. Walsh appeared in over 220 film and television roles over the course of his long and varied career. You might recognise him for his part in 1982’s Blade Runneror - more recently - his performance in Knives Outalongside ex-Bond Daniel Craig.

Walsh was in the business for six decades, playing everything from funny roles to villains. With his comedic flare and hangdog face, he enjoyed success in a range of genres. Let’s take a look at his career and what he said about being an actor.

M Emmet Walsh’s career

Walsh was born in New York and raised in Vermont. The budding actor landed his first uncredited film and his first credited film in the same year: in 1969, he played an extra in Midnight Cowboy and played a sergeant in Alice’s Restaurant. He went on to feature in 1977’s sports comedy Slap Shot and played the sniper hunting down Steve Martin in 1979’s The Jerk. However, it was his performance as the LAPD boss who brings Harrison Ford out of retirement in Blade Runner that brought him the most recognition.

Walsh spoke to the Hollywood Reporter in 2017 about his experience with this iconic film:

We didn’t know what to say or to think or do! We didn’t know what in the hell we had done! The only one who seemed to get it was Ridley.

Ridley Scott directed the film, which was massively successful. Walsh also featured in the huge hit My Best Friend's Wedding,which starred the likes of Julia Roberts and Dermot Mulroney. Walsh played Mulroney's father in the 1997 romcom.

What he said about being an actor

Walsh enjoyed critical acclaim during his career: the famed film critic Roger Ebert even came up with a ‘Stanton-Walsh Rule’. His reasoning was that ‘no movie featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad’.

It was the variety of roles that Walsh loved most. The actor once said:

I have more fun playing 10 different people than I do playing the same person 10 different times. One time it’s a garbage collector, and the next time it’s the president of Princeton.

However, he was also well aware of the toll chasing success can take on a person. He told the Orange County Register:

I’ve been around stardom. I’ve been around Redford and Hoffman, and it’s scary. That drive for stardom is like the greyhounds chasing the mechanical rabbit. By the time he catches him, he’s too tired to run anymore, and you’ve got to shoot him.

Walsh's manager, Sandy Joseph, confirmed that the actor died of a cardiac arrest on Tuesday 21 March.

Read more:

⋙ David and Victoria Beckham have been together since 1997, here's their life in pictures

⋙ From Queen Elizabeth to Christine McVie, here are the celebrities who passed away in 2022

⋙ Dave Myers passed away with £1.4M fortune that he shares with wife Liliana Orzac
Sources used:

The Guardian:M Emmet Walsh, Blade Runner, Blood Simple and Knives Out actor, dies aged 88

Sky News: M Emmet Walsh: Blade Runner and Knives Out actor dies