The actor Jake Abraham, best known for his role in Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, has died aged 56.
Abraham, who played Dean in the British gangster film, revealed his prostate cancer diagnosis in July and said he was receiving palliative care.
The Liverpool-born actor’s other roles included the 1991 Channel 4 series GBH, and the films Mean Machine and Formula 51.
Bill Elms, a Liverpool theatre director and producer who worked with Jake on several occasions, told the Liverpool Echo: “I had the great pleasure of working with Jake on a few shows I co-produced, Twopence to Cross the Mersey and Lennon’s Banjo, he was a wonderful actor, a great company member and was much loved by so many in the industry.
“He will be sadly missed. I have many fond memories of Jake, he was always so upbeat and fun to be around. I admired him for going public with his illness, it will make a difference to many others and save lives.
“It’s a very sad day. RIP and sending my love to his friends and family.”
Abraham previously told the Echo that he had received his cancer diagnosis after going to the doctors after a long period of illness. The cancer later spread to the rest of his body and tumours developed in his spine, hips and bladder.
“I was working but I wasn’t feeling well. I was pushing through those spells when you don’t feel yourself, you haven’t got the energy and there are aches and pains,” he said.
“What made me go to the doctor and get a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test was that I passed blood in my urine.
“I got a test and ended up in the Royal. He said: ‘You’ve got cancer, I’m so, so sorry.’ He said that I’d had it for years, maybe four years.”
Abraham’s character in Ritchie’s 1998 classic was one of two incompetent thieves who are sent to steal a pair of antique shotguns.
