Kenneth Colley, Star Wars and Life of Brian Star, Dies at 87

Star Wars and Monty Python's Life of Brian star Kenneth Colley has passed away at the age of 87.

Per Deadline, Colley passed away on June 30 at his home in Kent, England. According to the report, Colley passed following a battle with COVID, which led him to develop pneumonia. The beloved British actor's death was confirmed by his agent, Julian Owen, via a statement released to the BBC.

"Ken Colley was one of our finest character actors with a career spanning 60 years," Owens' statement read. "Ken continually worked on stage, film, and television playing a vast array of characters, from Jesus in Monty Python's Life of Brian to evil and eccentric characters in Ken Russell films, and the Duke of Vienna in Shakespeare's Measure for Measure for the BBC." The statement went on to note that "Ken's favourite part was playing Estragon in the stage production of Beckett’s classic Waiting for Godot at the Cockpit Theatre in London in 2014."

Colley's early career was defined by roles in films such as The Jokers and How I Won the Warand television series such as The Avengers and The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes. In 1975, Colley's career took a turn with his appearance as Noah Riley on The Sweeney, which helped cement his place as a fan-favorite on the small screen.

Colley is best known by many for his portrayal of Jesus Christ in Monty Python's Life of Brian, as well as for his recurring role as Admiral Piett in the Star Wars franchise, a role he first took on in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back before reprising it for both 1983's Return of the Jediand 2012's Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out. Colley's last major role was as Vicente Changretta on the hit period crime series Peaky Blinders.