Los Angeles (dpo) – His death leaves a painful, volleyball-sized gap: Dean Laury, who played the role of Wilson in “Cast Away” (2000) alongside Tom Hanks, died at the weekend at the age of only 57.

According to relatives, Laury died after a brief, severe stroke after rolling over a nail on Thursday.

Laury, who began acting at the age of 16, had his first major role in “Top Gun” (1986), where he appeared in the famous volleyball scene . People magazine subsequently declared him Newcomer of the Year.

But difficult times followed. In the late 80s and 90s, Laury mostly had to limit himself to extra roles. For example, he played a volleyball lying around in Rambo III (1988) or the third egg from the left in a nest in Jurassic Park (1993). He was often only on screen for a few seconds.

His career seemed to be over when he was cast in the role of Wilson at the age of 33. But although Laury gave what was probably the best acting performance of his life in “Cast Away,” he was never honored for it, while his colleague Tom Hanks was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor.

Laury never completely got over this humiliation. In 2005, he finally gave up acting altogether and withdrew from public life. He is said to have never spoken to Hanks again.

He spent a lot of the last few years on his private volleyball court.

Laury leaves behind a soccer ball and three tennis balls.