He died in hospital on Sunday after a lengthy battle with cancer.
The Warrington-born actor was once described by Steven Spielberg as “the best actor in the world”, and was made an OBE in the 2004 New Year’s Honours List.
After beginning his career on the stage, his breakthrough film performance was in 1988’s Distant Voices, Still Lives.
He was then nominated for the best supporting actor Academy Award in 1993 for his performance in In the Name of the Father.
Postlethwaite went on to star in several of the most popular films of the 1990s, including The Usual Suspects, Brassed Off and Romeo + Juliet.
He returned to the theatre to play King Lear when Liverpool became European Capital of Culture in 2008.
One of his most recent appearances was in Inception, last year’s hit science-fiction film.
He had continued to work until recently despite receiving treatment for cancer.
Andrew Richardson, a friend of Postlethwaite, announced on Monday morning that he had passed away peacefully in hospital in Shropshire on Sunday.
Postlethwaite is survived by his wife and two children.
