Movies Dark Knight Rises, Aliens actor Jay Benedict dies from COVID-19 By Joey Nolfi Joey Nolfi Entertainment Weekly's Oscars expert, 'RuPaul's Drag Race' beat reporter, host of 'Quick Drag' Twitter Spaces, and cohost of 'EW's BINGE' podcast. Almost all of the drag content on this site is my fault (you're welcome). EW's editorial guidelines Published on April 6, 2020 01:23PM EDT Actor Jay Benedict — who had roles in major movies from James Cameron's Aliens to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises — has died at age 68 after contracting the coronavirus. According to a statement on his official website, Benedict died Saturday after suffering complications from COVID-19, the respiratory disease associated with coronavirus. Ferdaus Shamim/WireImage Though he was born in California, Benedict lived in Europe for over 50 years, where he developed a noticeable accent despite his reputation for playing quintessentially American characters — including his most widely known role as John Kieffer, a United States army officer from the television series Foyle's War, and an arc on the British series Emmerdale in the late '90s. In addition to his work on stage (including playing multiple roles in various performances of The Rocky Horror Show), Benedict appeared in small parts as Newt's father in Cameron's 1986 thriller Aliens and as a bit player in Nolan's 2012 Batman trilogy sequel The Dark Knight Rises. Benedict's talent agency paid tribute to the late actor on Twitter, writing that the staff's "thoughts are with his family," while his Emmerdale costar Vicki Michelle honored him with a social media message as well: "Shocked to hear one of our most brilliant actors and kind lovely man Jay Benedict has passed," she tweeted, adding that Benedict was "Married to my lovely friend Phoebe Scholfield" before extending condolences "to her and her family at this sad time." Across his career, Benedict also did post-production audio work on series like Downton Abbey, Dickensian, Call the Midwife, and Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands through his Sync or Swim company, and lent his voice to video games, documentaries, and commercials on television and radio. In addition to Scholfield, his wife, Benedict leaves behind two sons, Freddie and Leopold. Related content: Stars we lost in 2020 Celebrities with coronavirus urge fans to stay safe Remembering the stars we've lost to coronavirus