Ewen MacIntosh From the British Version of 'The Office' Has Died at Age 50

Actor Ewen MacIntosh iconically played Keith Bishop on the original, British version of The Office from 2001–2003.

Fans came to know him best as "Big Keith."

Sadly, Ewen passed away at age 50. His death was announced on Feb. 21, 2024.

How did Ewen die? Here is what we know about the star's cause of death, as well as what both former co-stars and fans are saying in the wake of the very sad news that he is no longer with us.

According to the Mirror, Ewen's management company confirmed the news that their client and friend had died.

"With great sadness we announce the peaceful passing of our beloved comedy genius Ewen MacIntosh," a statement read. "His family thanks everyone who supported him, particularly the team at Willow Green Care Home. A private cremation will take place soon for family and close friends, with a celebratory memorial taking place later in the year."

We don't yet know how Ewen died, but back in 2022, he shared with fans that he was in the hospital. He tweeted, "Bad times for me I'm afraid chums. Stay strong out there."

The star hadn't posted anything on social media since then and didn't give fans more details about why he had been hospitalized. It isn't clear if Ewen's death is even related to that hospital stay.

The creator of The Office, comedian Ricky Gervais, took to Twitter to share a tribute to the late actor.

"Extremely sad news," Ricky tweeted. "The very funny and very lovely Ewen MacIntosh, known to many as 'Big Keith' from The Office, has passed away. An absolute original. RIP."

Co-writer and co-director Stephen Merchant shared his own sadness about the news on Instagram, where he also shared juicy, behind-the-scenes details about Ewen's role.

"I’m so very sad to hear of the passing of Ewen MacIntosh, a lovely and uniquely funny man who played accountant Keith in The Office," he said. "I fondly recall we asked him to improvise an out-of-office message, and he was so hilarious we started writing more and more dialogue for him. He soon stole every scene he was in. A total one-off. A tragic loss. RIP."

Meanwhile, many fans shared a clip of what's widely believed to be Ewen's most memorable scene on The Office, in which Ricky's character, David Brent, has a meeting with Keith to conduct his review.

In the iconic scene, David goes over the review, and discusses how as a weakness, Keith has written "eczema."

Then, to most other questions, the disengaged employee simply mumbles in between chewing his gum vigorously, "don't know," and clearly has no interest in the meeting — or his role at the fictional company, Wernham Hogg.

Tributes continue to pour in at the time of writing, with the actor being called "brilliant" and a "comedy legend."

We share our condolences with Ewen's family, former co-stars, friends, and fans.