The actor Michael Pennington, known for his Shakespearean work and his role in the original Star Wars trilogy, has died aged 82, his agent has said.

Pennington, who is listed as an honorary associate artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company, also founded and ran the English Shakespeare Company alongside the theatre director Michael Bogdanov .

His fellow actor Miriam Margolyes remembered him as an “old friend, from Cambridge days, a very fine actor, brilliant, wise, clear”. She said: “I am sad beyond measure,” adding: “Bless your dear memory, old chum.”

Pennington was celebrated for his portrayals of Shakespearean characters, playing Hamlet, Mercutio and Macbeth, as well as King Lear, Richard II and Henry V.…