Ian Holm is best known for playing the role of hobbit Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. (Photo: Warner Bros)

English actor Ian Holm, best known for playing the role of hobbit Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, has died at the age of 88.

The actor’s agent told the Guardian, “It is with great sadness that the actor Sir Ian Holm CBE passed away this morning at the age of 88. He died peacefully in hospital, with his family and carer. Charming, kind and ferociously talented, we will miss him hugely.” The cause of Holm’s death was reportedly Parkinson’s.

Apart from his roles in films, that also included Ridley’s Scott original Alien (1979), Chariots of Fire (1981), Ratatouille (2007) among more, Ian Holm was also known for his performances in British theatre like the role of King Lear in the Shakespeare play of the same name.

Holm reprised the role of Bilbo Baggins briefly in two of the Hobbit movies too. He appeared in the first movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and the last movie, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

The Battle of the Five Armies was Ian Holm’s last film. He is survived by his five children, one grandson and his wife, Sophie de Stempel.