Tony Todd, Star Of Candyman And Voice Of Venom, Dies Aged 69

Iconic actor Tony Todd has died at the age of 69, it has been confirmed. As reported by THR, the Candyman, Platoon, and Star Trek: The Next Generation star, who amassed in excess of 250 professional credits over the course of an astonishing, five decade spanning career, passed away on 6 November at his home in Los Angeles after a long battle with illness.

Anthony Tiran Todd was born in Washington D.C. on 4 December, 1954 to Evetta Lyons Gaither. At the age of just three a young Tony Todd moved to Hartford, Connecticut where his auntie, Clara Elliston, took custody of him and nurtured his adolescent curiosity with the arts. Having enrolled Todd in summer acting courses as a boy, Elliston supported her nephew — artistically, financially, and emotionally — as his interest in theatre led to spells at both Eugene O’Neill National Actors Theatre Institute in Connecticut and Trinity Repertory Company in Rhode Island.

Standing at an impressive 6'5" tall and blessed with a face for the screen and a voice for the ages, it wasn't long before the aspiring thesp began landing work in film and television. In 1986, at 32 years of age, Todd made his big screen debut in Sara Driver's Sleepwalk and followed it up immediately with an eye-catching turn as heroin addict Sgt. Warren in Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning Platoon, leading to a slew of roles in the likes of 21 Jump Street, MacGyver, Tom Savini's 1990 Night Of The Living Dead remake, and Star Trek: The Next Generation in the years that followed.

It was with his work in Bernard Rose's 1992 urban folk horror classic Candyman however that Tony Todd found the role that for many would come to define the genre titan's career. As the hook-handed, mink wearing title character — a mythical reincarnation of Daniel Robitaille, a son whose parents were enslaved in the 19th century and whose own unjust death came at the hand of a white lynch mob — Todd breathed life into one of horror's most iconic figures, redefining the possibilities for African American genre actors in the process. With his silky smooth tone, angle-grinder smile, and striking chest apiary (which, famously, involved a lot of live bees and a $23,000 sting-based bonus for the movie's star), Todd cuts an at once irresistibly seductive and palpably menacing figure, one that has so endured in the cultural consciousness that he'd go on to play it again in Candyman II: Farewell To The Flesh and then once more in Nia DaCosta's 2021 Candyman reboot almost three decades later.

Whilst Todd would go on to make memorable appearances elsewhere in film and TV projects as varied as The Crow, The X-Files, The Rock, Murder, She Wrote, and The Man From Earth (not to mention further Trek appearances in Voyager and Deep Space Nine, the latter of which resulted in one of Star Trek's all-time great episodes, 'The Visitor'), horror continued to be a major feature in the actor's career heading into and beyond the new millennium. His mere presence in movies like Wishmaster and Hatchet lent them a genre credibility very few other actors could so deftly bestow, whilst his recurring appearances as undertaker-turned-mortician William Bludworth across the Final Destination franchise functioned as a tangible physical and vocal bridge between life and Death — hell, he even voiced the Devil (or at least a fairground statue of him) in Final Destination 3. And who could forget the fist-pump worthy showdown between Ghostface and Todd's tellingly named, claw-wielding "Hook Man" in the Scream TV series?

Beyond his prolific work on-screen and time spent treading the boards on Broadway, Todd also lent his inimitable voice to a dizzying array of animated and video game projects throughout the 21st century, too. From Transformers Prime and Call Of Duty: Black Ops II to Be Cool Scooby-Doo!, Masters Of The Universe: Revelation, and multiple appearances as the DC Animated Universe's Darkseid, Todd has proven himself time and again to be one of the hardest working and versatile actors of his generation. And as the voice of symbiotic supervillain Venom in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 last year, Todd added another commanding, instantly iconic cultural touchstone to his legendary resumé.

Even now, in the wake of the tragic news of Todd's passing, several of the star's projects — including the upcoming Indiana Jones And The Great Circle video game — remain in various stages of post-production, offering the small comfort of knowing we will get to hear that incredible voice fill our ears again in the months and years ahead as we continue to appreciate, revisit, and remember the actor's vast body of work.

In an interview with The Guardian back in 2020, Todd — who regularly partook in community outreach projects and gave acting seminars to underprivileged kids throughout his life — reflected on the legacy he hoped to leave behind. "I’m an African American man who wasn’t supposed to make it. And somehow I beat the system. I want to be an inspiration. Cos somewhere out there is a little boy who’s confused, just like I was. And I want to say: you can do it.”

In an emotional post shared on Instagram, his Candyman leading lady Virginia Madsen remembered "a gentle soul", "a rare actor", and "a dear friend". Today, we here at Empire are remembering Tony Todd a trailblazer and a true genre great, an actor of real poise, immense gravitas, and electrifying presence whose legacy will surely endure for generations to come. He will be missed, and our thoughts are with his friends and family at this difficult time.