Ray Stevenson, of 'Rome' and 'Thor' movies, dies at 58

Ray Stevenson, who played the villainous British governor in 'RRR,' an Asgardian warrior in the 'Thor' films, and a member of the 13th Legion in HBO's 'Rome,' has died. He was 58.

Ray Stevenson, who played the villainous British governor in "RRR," an Asgardian warrior in the "Thor" films, and a member of the 13th Legion in HBO's "Rome," has died. He was 58.

Representatives for Stevenson told The Associated Press that he died Sunday but had no other details to share on Monday.

Stevenson was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, in 1964. After attending the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and years of working in British television, he made his film debut in Paul Greengrass's 1998 film "The Theory of Flight." In 2004, he appeared in Antoine Fuqua's "King Arthur" as a knight of the round table and several years later played the lead in the pre-Disney Marvel adaptation "Punisher: War Zone."

Though "Punisher" was not the best-reviewed film, he'd get another taste of Marvel in the first three "Thor" films, in which he played Volstagg. Other prominent film roles included the "Divergent" trilogy, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" and "The Transporter: Refueled."

A looming presence at 6-foot-4, Stevenson, who played his share of soldiers past and present, once said in an interview, "I guess I'm an old warrior at heart."

On the small screen, he was the roguish Titus Pullo in "Rome," a role that really got his career going in the United States and got him a SAG card, at the age of 44. The popular series ran from 2005 to 2007.

"That was one of the major years of my life," Stevenson said in an interview. "It made me sit down in my own skin and say, just do the job. The job's enough."