By Ghazali Ibrahim
Veteran American actor Tom Noonan, known for his chilling villain roles in major Hollywood films including RoboCop 2 and Manhunter, has died at the age of 74, his colleagues confirmed this week.
Noonan reportedly died peacefully on Saturday, February 14, 2026, though no official cause of death has been released. The news was confirmed on Wednesday 18 February by actress Karen Sillas, a longtime friend and co-star, and director Fred Dekker, who worked with Noonan on the cult classic The Monster Squad.
Born on April 12, 1951, in Greenwich, Connecticut, Noonan began his career in theatre before establishing himself as a distinctive screen presence in the late 1970s and 1980s. His towering 6-foot-5 frame and intense performances made him a favourite choice for complex, often villainous characters.
Noonan gained early notice in Michael Mann’s crime thriller Manhunter (1986), where he played the terrifying serial killer Francis Dollarhyde, the first cinematic adaptation of Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon. He went on to portray Cain, a cult leader turned cyborg villain in RoboCop 2 (1990), and featured in films like Last Action Hero, Heat, Synecdoche, New York and The House of the Devil.
On television, Noonan appeared in acclaimed series including The X-Files, Hell on Wheels, The Blacklist, and 12 Monkeys. His last major on-screen role was in Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck (2017), and he later provided voice work for the animated series Animals.
Beyond acting, Noonan was also an accomplished playwright and director. His 1994 film What Happened Was…, which he wrote, directed and starred in, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and remains celebrated in independent cinema circles.
In tributes shared on social media, colleagues remembered Noonan as a generous and thoughtful artist. Dekker lauded his performance as Frankenstein’s Monster in The Monster Squad and described him as “a gentleman and a scholar,” while Sillas called working with him a “turning point” in her career.
Fans have also taken to social platforms to mourn the loss of an actor whose memorable roles spanned genres and decades, celebrating his ability to make even sinister characters compelling and unforgettable.
Tom Noonan leaves behind a legacy as one of Hollywood’s most distinctive character actors.
