Veteran Actor and Oscar Nominee Albert Finney Dead at 82

Albert Finney, the English actor who earned five Oscar nominations for his performances in films like Tom Jones, Murder on the Orient Express and Erin Brockovich, has died after a short illness, The Guardian reports. He was 82.

Born in Salford, England, in 1936, Finney went on to graduate from London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. An accomplished stage actor who once replaced an ill Laurence Olivier in the title role in Shakespeare's Coriolanus, Finney made his film debut as Olivier's son in 1960's The Entertainer. His screen breakthrough came later that year in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, which rocketed him to stardom.

In 1963, Finney starred in Tom Jones, which led to his first Academy Award nomination for best actor. He followed that up with a nomination in the same category for Murder on the Orient Express in 1974. The actor played Agatha Christie's iconic detective Hercule Poirot so definitively that Christie reportedly liked his take on the character the best.

Finney was nominated for an Oscar twice more as lead actor -- in The Dresser (1983) and Under the Volcano (1984) -- and once for his supporting turn in Erin Brockovich (2000). He showed off his vocal chops in 1970's Scrooge and 1982's Annie, for which he shaved his head to play Daddy Warbucks. Later in his career, the actor also gave memorable performances in films like Big Fish (2003), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) and The Bourne Legacy (2012). He made his final credited film appearance in Skyfall (2012).

On television, Finney played Winston Churchill in the 2002 biopic The Gathering Storm, for which he won an Emmy, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe. He had also been nominated for an Emmy for HBO's The Image (1990).

Finney also found success on Broadway. The actor earned Tony nominations for his performances in John Osborne's Luther in 1964 and Peter Nichols' A Day in the Life of Joe Egg in 1968. He continued to return to the stage throughout his career.

In 2011, Finney disclosed that he was receiving treatment for kidney cancer.

Finney was married three times, first to British actress Jane Wenham, then to French actress Anouk Aimee. He married his third wife, Pene Delmage, in 2006. He is survived by Delmage and his son, Simon Finney, from his first marriage.