British actor Bob Hoskins dies at 71, news broke in an announcement from his publicist Clair Dobbs. He is known for his roles as gangsters, or tough men, as well as blue collar gentlemen in films like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," "The Long Good Friday," and "Mermaids."

Robert Hoskins was born October 26, 1942 in Bury St. Edmunds, England. He was the only child to a bookkeeper and a chef. By the age of 15 he had dropped out of school and started his working career as a truck driver and window cleaner. A friend of his brought him along for a audition and they asked him to try out. He got the part, the rest is history painted with awards.

When asked about his acting career by the UK paper The Telegraph, Hoskins commented: "I fit into this business like a sore foot into a soft shoe."

The most renowned film Hoskins is identified with the 1988 blockbuster hit "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" where he plays to a detective Eddie Valiant trying to unveil the innocence of Roger, who has been portrayed as a murder. The film was the second-highest grossing film, after "Rain Man."

Other performances that followed include his role in 1991's "Hook" where he performed as the character Smee- the captains assistant. In 1995, he performed as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover in "Nixon" and 2001 as a gambler friend of protagonist Michael Caine in "Last Orders"

In 1986, Hoskins was nominated for an Oscar for his role as a cab driver in "Mona Lisa." He took home both a BAFTA and Golden Globe for the performance.

His career kicked off in England from performances in Dennis Potter miniseries "Pennies from Heaven," that later spun out a movie starring Steve Martin. Other notable roles he played in include 1980's "The Long Good Friday," 1982's "Pink Floyd the Wall" and 1984's "Brazil." His performance in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was his debut to America and started gaining worldwide fame.

The filming of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" came with a cost at the expense of Hoskins. He explained to The Telegraph

"I think I went a bit mad while working on that. Lost my mind. The voice of the rabbit was there just behind the camera all the time," he recollects. "The trouble was, I had learnt how to hallucinate. My daughter had an invisible friend called Jeffrey and I played with her and this invisible friend until one day I actually saw the friend."

The daughter allowed him to overcome the difficulty.

Hoskins recalls, "My daughter, when I came back from filming in San Francisco, she said 'Dad, slow down, slow down. You're going barmy, mate.' And I was."

Up until his retirement in 2012 from 1972, he performed in at least one production every year where he became fashioned and known for his no  "Method acting."

"There's two things I love about this business. One's acting and the other one's getting paid for it," he told the UK paper The Guardian in 2007. "The rest of it is a mystery to me."

He finished his career in role from Snow White and the Huntsman acting as an elf Muir in 2012. He also performed once again as Smee in 2011 in a prequal "Neverland."

He is survived by his wife Lina and four children.