Actor Tom Noonan, known for roles such as “RoboCop 2” and “The Last Action Hero,” has died at the age of 74.
According to the Daily Mail, Noonan’s “What Happened” co-star Karen Silas announced the shocking news on Wednesday. She confirmed that the late actor “passed away peacefully” on Saturday.
The cause of death has not been disclosed.
“My dear friend and co-star Tom Noonan passed away peacefully on Valentine’s Day 2026,” Silas began the emotional announcement on Instagram.
“Co-starring with him in his original off-Broadway play ‘What Happened Was…’ at Paradise Factory Theater in the early ’90s was a turning point for me and my career, and it still resonates throughout my life and work as an actor,” she added.
Ms. Silas, 62, paid tribute to her late co-star and his legacy, calling her and Noonan’s 1994 film “What Happened Was” one of “the most iconic independent works in American cinema.”
“What an honor and what a blast it was to work with this man and call him my friend until the end…May his legacy continue to shine,” she concluded.
Born in Greenwich, Connecticut in 1951, Noonan began his acting career, appearing in the original off-Broadway production of Sam Shepard’s famous play “The Buried Child” in 1978.
But it wasn’t until 1980 that the popular actor made his screen debut in the comedy-drama “Willy & Phil,” followed by “Gloria” and “Heaven’s Gate” in the same year.
Noonan’s breakthrough came in 1986 when he starred as the main antagonist, Francis Dolarhyde, opposite FBI agent Will Graham, played by William Petersen, in the nail-biting crime thriller Manhunter.
A year later, Noonan starred as Frankenstein’s monster in Fred Dekker’s horror comedy Monster Squad.
In his own eulogy for Noonan, Decker recalled the late actor as “the highlight of my modest filmography.”
“He was the proverbial gentleman and scholar. The world has lost a great talent,” the director wrote on Facebook. “Rest in peace Tom. Thank you for your great work.”
After solidifying what one fan described as the “perfect bad guy” in Manhunter and Monster Squad, Noonan was cast as Kane in Irvin Kershner’s RoboCop 2 in 1990.
Peter Weller returns as the titular RoboCop in this sci-fi action film that follows the 1987 original. Noonan, on the other hand, played both the Nuke drug cartel leader and RoboCop 2 later in the film.
Three years later, the actor-turned-director starred as the Ripper, another antagonist to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Detective Jack Slater, in 1993’s The Last Action Hero.
Since making his directorial debut in 1994’s What Happened Was, Noonan has continued to appear in small roles on the big screen, including Heat (1995), Eight Legged Freaks (2002), New York Synecdoche (2008), and The Devil’s House (2009).
Noonan’s last film was in the 2017 mystery drama Wonderstruck, directed by Todd Haynes.
When it comes to television, Noonan has had an impressive and long career, including small roles on “The X-Files,” “CSI,” and “Law & Order.” He also appeared on “The Blacklist” and “12 Monkeys.”
His last television appearance was as a voice actor in the 2018 animated series Animals.
“Writing something is more interesting to me because I love doing it and I feel like I’ve learned how to do it so much that it’s not a waste,” Noonan said in one of his final interviews of 2021.
“That’s a skill I’m blessed with. I want to make movies,” he added at the time. “I don’t know anything about acting.”
