BYRON BAY, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 02: Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard of The Swell Season performs on stage during Day 2 of Bluesfest 2010 at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm on April 2, 2010 in Byron Bay, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
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Glen Hansard, an Oscar-winning songwriter who starred in the music-themed films Once and The Commitments, has died.
Hansard died in a motorcycle crash Wednesday morning in Dublin, Ireland, according to the BBC. He was 56.
Hansard, who was the longtime leader of the Irish band The Frames, played Outspan Foster in director Alan Parker’s 1991 music drama The Commitments. The film chronicled a group of young working-class adults in Dublin who formed an R&B band.
In director John Carney’s 2006 musical romance Once, Hansard starred as Guy opposite Markéta Irglová’s Girl. The duo also won a Best Original Song Oscar for writing “Falling Slowly,” which chronicled their romance in the film.
Once was also adapted as a Broadway musical, and went on to win eight Tony Awards including Best Musical in 2012.
Bruce Springsteen paid tribute to Hansard in an Instagram post on Wednesday, writing, “Here on E Street, we are heartbroken over the death of Glen Hansard. We met in Ireland many years ago and he was always nothing but a great musician, a good friend and a generous and gracious man. Always positive, smiling and ready to sing. God bless him and his loved ones.”
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