Robert Forster, who portrayed Captain Dan Holland in Disney’s The Black Hole, has died at the age of 78.
As Captain Holland in The Black Hole, he was in command of the U.S.S. Palomino. Holland was a serious commander who also had a soft spot for those under his command. Disney’s The Black Hole was released in 1979. It was Disney’s attempt to create a space opera that was a space disaster movie. It was hoped that the movie could capture the momentum and excitement that was kicked off by Star Wars. The Black Hole was directed by Gary Nelson and was the first PG movie put out by Disney. It was received with mixed reviews and unfortunately did not perform overly well at the box office.
Forster was also known for portraying other iconic roles throughout his career. In 1967 he starred opposite of Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando in Reflections in the Golden Eye. Throughout the 70s he could be found on multiple television and movie roles. In 1979 he appeared in The Black Hole. This was followed by a period where Forster appeared in many b-movies. It wasn’t until 1997 though when his career really took off. This was due to Quentin Tarantino casting him in Jackie Brown. The role would garner him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. This opened many doors for Forster. He would go on to star in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Mullholland Drive, Me, Myself & Irene, and also a remake of Psycho. For the rest of his life he kept quite busy as an actor.
On the small screen, he portrayed multiple iconic roles. This included Ed in Breaking Bad, Arthur Petrelli in Heroes, and Sheriff Frank Truman in Twin Peaks: The Return. He also reprised the role of Ed in the Netflix movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.
Another performance piece that Robert Forster had in his arsenal was the voicework that he did throughout the years. His voice could be heard through the years on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers: Prime, The Simpsons, Justice League Unlimited, Gozilla: The Series, and also Todd McFarlane’s Spawn.
Robert Forster is survived by his wife, Evie, and his four children.
