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Actor Earl Cameron, Trailblazing Star of Doctor Who and The Dark Man , Dies at 102

Earl Cameron, one of the first Black actors to break into the British film industry, died Friday, his agent confirmed. He was 102.

The Bermuda-born actor "passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his wife and family," in Kenilworth in Warwickshire, his agent told The Guardian.

Born in 1917, Cameron came to the U.K. in 1939 after joining the British Merchant Navy and landed his first small role in the stage production of Chu Chin Chow in 1941.

“When I arrived in London, I had no qualifications for anything. It was a period when it was almost impossible for a black person to get any kind of job," Cameron told the Royal Gazette in a 2018 interview.

Nevertheless, he continued to find work in theater and scored his big break in film in 1951 in the crime drama Pool of London. According to the AV Club, Pool of London was reportedly the first British film to showcase an interracial relationship.

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The actor continued to find work in both movies and television for the next 40-some years, appearing in films like Simba, Guns at Batasi, and Safari.

In 1965, he earned a small role as James Bond's assistant in Thunderball and went on to land a role as a regular on the BBC series, The Dark Man.

Cameron also appeared on season 4 of Doctor Who, where he reportedly became the first Black actor to play an astronaut on screen, the AV Club reported.

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Mary Evans/EALING STUDIOS/RANK ORGANISATION/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection

Everett Collection

The actor's last major role was a small part in the 2010 film Inception.

"I never saw myself as a pioneer," Cameron told The Guardian in 2017. "It was only later, looking back, that it occurred to me that I was.”

His accomplishments as a Black actor in film were honored in 2009 when he was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

In 2016, Cameron was inducted into Britain Screen Nation Hall of Fame.

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Cameron left a lasting impact on many Black British actors today, as seen in a variety of tributes on social media.

David Harewood called Cameron a "total legend," while Paterson Joseph thanked him for laying a foundation for actors today.

"His generation’s pioneering shoulders are what my generation of actors stand on. No shoulders were broader than this gentleman with the voice of god and the heart of a kindly prince," Paterson wrote.

Cameron's children thanked those who honored their father and paid tribute to his accomplishments.

"Our family have been overwhelmed by the outpourings of love and respect we have received at the news of our father’s passing," his children told The Guardian. "As an artist and as an actor he refused to take roles that demeaned or stereotyped the character of people of colour. He was truly a man who stood by his moral principles and was inspirational.”