British actor Damien Thomas, best known for his iconic role as Count Karnstein in the Hammer Films horror classic Twins of Evil, has died at the age of 83.

Thomas passed away on April 18 at Salisbury Hospice in Wiltshire, England, following a battle with progressive supranuclear palsy, his daughter Phoebe Court-Thomas confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. Paying tribute, she described her father as a "remarkable man" whose "charm, generosity, and passion for his craft will never be forgotten."

The news was also shared on Facebook page Hammer Horror Classics, where devastated fans rushed to share their condolences. One user wrote: "He was absolutely wonderful as Count Karrnstein. He was everything a vampire should be, truly evil, decadent, intelligent, good looking, Byronic. He was far better than Christopher Lee in my books. I hope Damian Thomas is at peace. For this part alone, he will be immortal."

Another person wrote: "I remember him from The Devil's Foot episode of Return of Sherlock Holmes where he played Mortimer Tregennis. Very memorable performance."

Born on April 11, 1942, in Ismailia, Egypt, Thomas trained at London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), where he won two scholarships and graduated with the principal’s medal at 25. His career began in the late 1960s, including an early television appearance on Journey to the Unknown, and he quickly found success on both stage and screen.

Thomas became a horror icon with his chilling performance as Count Karnstein in Twins of Evil (1971), starring opposite Peter Cushing. His character, a seductive vampire aristocrat, locked horns with Cushing’s stern vampire hunter, Gustav Weil. The film, a major installment of Hammer’s Karnstein Trilogy, also featured real-life twin sisters Madeleine and Mary Collinson.

Beyond horror, Thomas proved his versatility in a string of acclaimed period dramas. He portrayed Father Alvito, a Portuguese priest, alongside Richard Chamberlain in NBC’s epic miniseries Shōgun (1980), and the unsettling Richard Mason in the BBC's Jane Eyre (1983), starring Zelah Clarke and Timothy Dalton. He also appeared in The Talisman, Beau Geste, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, and the 1985 TV movie Tenko Reunion.

In cinema, he worked under famed director Roman Polanski as the brutal first mate in Pirates (1986), although the experience initially shattered his confidence when the film underperformed. Reflecting in 2013, Thomas admitted he had blamed himself at the time but later realised the film’s flaws were not his own.

Damien is survived by his wife Julia, his children Dom, Maud, and Phoebe, and his stepchildren Kirsty, Hannah, and Gabe.

His iconic film Twins of Evil is available to watch on ITVX now.