Tom Noonan, Known for Villainous Roles in ‘Manhunter’ and ‘Heat,’ Dies at 74

Tom Noonan, a character actor beloved for his eccentric array of oddballs and villains, has died at age 74.

The actor reportedly passed away on Valentine’s Day, according to director Fred Dekker, who helmed 1987’s “The Monster Squad,” where Noonan tenderly played Frankenstein’s monster. No cause of death was made public.

“Tom’s indelible performance as Frankenstein in ‘The Monster Squad’ is a highlight of my modest filmography, doubtless aided by the masterful make-up designed by Stan Winston, sculpted by Tom Woodruff Jr., and applied by Zoltan Elek,” Dekker wrote on Facebook. “Having been knocked out by his performance as Francis Dollarhyde in Michael Mann’s ‘Manhunter,’ I desperately wanted Tom to read the script and consider the part, but I knew that nabbing him was probably a long shot. Nonetheless, he agreed to meet me at his Hollywood apartment to discuss the role.”

He continued: “I knew the first thing a serious actor would want to know was that my vision for Frankenstein was serious and not ‘campy.’ Luckily, this was the case. ‘He isn’t a monster,’ I argued, ‘but rather, a pitiable creature born from perverted science and cadavers — a sad, freakish orphan whose only goal is to live a normal life.’ As I pitched my take to Tom, I sensed I might be making headway, but I also knew I had to have a whammo finale. ‘The monster is like a newborn child,’ I said, ‘but with a re-purposed brain. Hence, he’s mentally challenged and at the same time physically huge, making him a sad, walking anomaly.’”

The filmmaker went on to pitch the character as like Lenny in “Of Mice and Men.” “Somehow or other, this appealed to Tom who, like most great actors, enjoy playing roles with contradictions and challenges (and a reference to a classic novel and movie never hurts),” Dekker wrote. “In the end, he found the make-up arduous and annoying (he was fond of tearing it off after we wrapped, and one night didn’t even bother to take it off; just drove home in his Frankenstein appliance). But all in all, he was the proverbial gentleman and scholar, and the world has lost a great talent.”

Noonan, who was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, had small, early roles in Michael Cimino’s misunderstood masterpiece “Heaven’s Gate” and the above-average werewolf movie “Wolfen,” before spending the 1980s and 1990s in a series of iconic roles – appearing in terrific 1986 thriller “F/X,” Michael Mann’s brilliant “Manhunter,” also in 1986 (an adaptation of Thomas Harris’ “Red Dragon”), 1987’s “The Monster Squad” and in a brief role in 1989’s “Mystery Train,” directed by Jim Jarmusch.

In 1990, he starred in “RoboCop 2” as Cain, a murderer and drug dealer transformed into the titular robot; in 1993, he appeared as himself and an ax-wielding maniac known as The Ripper in the meta action comedy “Last Action Hero”; and, in 1995, co-starred in Mann’s “Heat,” this time as hacker Kelso. While it’s easy to categorize most of these performances as typical villain roles, Noonan brought a sensitivity to the menace, at turns frightening and understandable. Even when they were their most inhumane, like, say, when inhabiting a hulking robotic body, they had depth.

During this same period he also starred in one of the more memorable episodes of “The X-Files,” as a child killer who possibly had ties to Mulder’s missing sister Samantha. The episode, called “Paper Hearts” and written by future “Breaking Bad” godhead Vince Gilligan, was aided greatly by Noonan’s unsettling performance.

Later in his career, Noonan found himself either giving into his genre past in things like “The Roost” and “The House of the Devil” (both made by filmmaker Ti West) or finding gratifying smaller roles in films by more sophisticated filmmakers who appreciated his work, like David Gordon Green (“Snow Angels”), Charlie Kaufman (“Synecdoche, New York” and “Anomalisa”) and Todd Haynes (“Wonderstruck”). He also did a ton of television, showing up in HBO’s critically acclaimed “The Leftovers” and on multiple episodes of “The Blacklist,” “12 Monkeys” and “Quarry.”

Noonan hadn’t worked since 2018, when he provided a voice for the HBO adult animated series “Animals,” but he was always present in the lives and hearts of film fans who appreciated his off-center approach to what could have been the most two-dimensional characters. Watch “Manhunter” again tonight. Or “Monster Squad.” Or “Heat.” As if we needed to give you another reason. These are already classic films. But would they have been as beloved without Noonan’s work?

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