2012 has been a rather sad year for film films with all the deaths happening and and us Brits have had to deal with Peter O’Toole’s recent retirement from acting. But while his reason was down to age, a fellow British actor has had to halt his versatile career because of a cruel disease.

It was confirmed today that cockney-actor Bob Hoskins, best known for his hard-edged roles in the likes of The Long Good Friday (1980), 1986’s Mona Lisa (which he received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for) and Nixon (1995), would be retiring from the film industry after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease last autumn at the age of 69.

His agent confirmed the news earlier today:

“Bob Hoskins wishes to announce that he will be retiring from acting, following his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease last autumn. He wishes to thank all the great and brilliant people he has worked with over the years, and all of his fans who have supported him during a wonderful career. Bob is now looking forward to his retirement with his family, and would greatly appreciate that his privacy be respected at this time.”

Hoskins had also earned a reputation of starring in family-aimed films too like his popular role as detective Eddie Valiant in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) as well as appearing in Hook (1991), Super Mario Bros (1993) and more recently this year’s Snow White and the Huntsman where he played one of the seven dwarfs.

While the news is saddening, one can only hope that Bob will have a peaceful retirement and isn’t dragged down by this illness. Given some of the roles he’s played I’m sure he’ll have the strength to confront it.