British actor Simon Fisher-Becker, who was best known for his appearances on TV series “Doctor Who” and the first “Harry Potter” movie, has died.
Kathleen Barry, who represented Fisher-Becker, announced the death of her client and longtime “close personal friend” Sunday on Facebook. The actor’s husband also confirmed the news on Facebook in a brief post. Barry did not share additional details about the actor’s death (including a cause) but remembered him as “always kind, gracious and interested in everyone.” He was 63.
“He helped me out enormously in so many ways,” Barry wrote. “My condolences go out to his husband Tony, his brother, nieces and nephews and his legion of fans.”
Fisher-Becker was born in London on Nov. 25, 1961, and enjoyed a varied acting career that began in the late 1980s and spanned TV series, movies, commercials and plays. His resumé included dozens of TV acting credits, most notably for BBC series “Puppy Love” and “Doctor Who.”
In the hit sci-fi series, Fisher-Becker shared the screen with Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith as Dorium Maldovar, the blue-skinned owner of an intergalactic trading post known as the Maldovarium. Though his tenure as Dorium on “Doctor Who” lasted only three epsiodes, Fisher-Becker reprised the role for other projects inspired by the long-running BBC juggernaut.
Prior to joining the “Doctor Who” cast, Fisher-Becker was a longtime fan of the series, Barry said. “I shall never forget the phone call I made to him when he was offered the part,” she added in her statement.
His television credits also included appearances in series “Waterside,” “3some,” “Getting On,” “Afterlife,” “99-1” and “Hale and Pace.”
Fisher-Becker also appeared in TV movies “An Ungentlemanly Act,” the 2012 film adaptation of “Les Misérables” and “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” the first installment in the film franchise. In the latter, he appeared as the Fat Friar, one of the specters who haunt the halls of Hogwarts.
On stage, Fisher-Becker appeared in productions of “The Busybody,” “The Emperor of the Moon,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Macbeth” and a one-man show of “Hamlet: Tragedy of a Fat Man.” He also penned a semi-autobiographical trilogy and published vlogs to his YouTube page. In his final vlog, posted Oct. 31, Fisher-Becker recalled major personal and world events that occurred on previous Halloweens — including moving into a bungalow with his husband.
Fisher-Becker also used his final vlog to advocate for fat acceptance. He railed against “nonsense” reports linking the use of sick time in the workforce to overweight employees. He cited his non-acting career during which he says he only took “eight days sick leave over 40 years.” After slamming the assumptions employers may have about larger people, Fisher-Becker ended his video with a call to action.
“All I have to say is give fat people a chance.”
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