Looking back at the career of 'Doctor Who' star Adrian Schiller as he passes away aged 60

English actor Adrian Schiller passed away at the age of 60 at his home in London on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. His talent agency of over three decades, Scott Marshall Partners, confirmed the news of the actor's death to the press on Thursday.

“It is with the heaviest and saddest hearts that we announce the death of our beloved client, Adrian Schiller, on Wednesday 3 April. He has died far too soon, and we, his family and close friends are devastated by the loss. His death was sudden and unexpected and no further details around its cause are yet available,” the statement read.

According to the agency, Adrian Schiller had recently returned from Sydney, where he had performed the play The Lehman Trilogy. He was looking forward to continuing touring in the USA, starting with San Francisco. Rufus Norris, the director of the National Theatre, which organized The Lehman Trilogy, paid tribute to Schiller via X following the news of his demise.

“We are deeply saddened and shocked to have lost our company member and friend… His recent performance as Henry Lehman in the Australian premiere of The Lehman Trilogy was superb and his presence in the company will be greatly missed,” Norris wrote on X.

Adrian Schiller’s sister Ginny also confirmed the tragic news on the actor's X account @Grumbletwat. She added that the family would update the fans and colleagues about the funeral and memorial plans “in due course.”

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Adrian Schiller played the role of Cornelius Penge in ITV's Victoria for three years

According to IMDb, Adrian Schiller’s acting career spanned over three decades and more than 80 projects, including web series, TV shows, movies, plays, and more. He began his career in 1992 with Prime Suspect 2 alongside Helen Mirren.

Schiller was best known for playing the main antagonist Aethelhelm the Elder in the British historical drama The Last Kingdom on BBC and Netflix. He also worked on the ITV historical drama Victoria as Mr. Cornelius Penge, a member of the royal household, for three seasons between 2016 and 2019.

Some of the other notable historical dramas Adrian was part of include The Musketeers on BBC and The Devil’s Wh*re on Channel 4.

Adrian Schiller was also part of two episodes of the BBC crime series Death in Paradise, where he played the role of pianist Pasha Verdinikov, and one episode of Doctor Who in 2011.

Apart from acting onscreen, Adrian Schiller was also a stage performer and acted in multiple plays over the years. These included Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, The Veil, The Captain of Kopenick, The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, The White Factory, The White Devil, and Macbeth among others.

However, he was perhaps best known for being the face of the anti-drink and drive campaign PIF Moment of Doubt on British television as well as DfT’s ‘Think! Road Safety’ campaign since 2007.

The London native also acted in movies including Going Postal, The Danish Girl, and Beauty and the Beast among others.

Apart from touring worldwide for the play The Lehman Trilogy recently, he also filmed for the TV movie Dog Days which is currently in post-production. He also appeared in the Apple TV+ series The New Look and an episode of the BBC show Father Brown earlier this year.