Cormac Roth, the son of British actor Tim Roth, 61, and stylist Nikki Butler, 43, died at the age of 25 following a one-year battle with cancer, his family announced on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022. “He was a wild and electric ball of energy and his spirit was filled with light and goodness,” his family said in a statement to Variety. “As wild as he was, Cormac was also the embodiment of kindness. A gentle soul who brought so much happiness and hope to those around him. The grief comes in waves, as do the tears and laughter, when we think of that beautiful boy across the 25 years and 10 months that we knew him. An irrepressible and joyful and wild and wonderful child. Only recently a man. We love him. We will carry him with us wherever we go.”
Cormac died on Oct. 16 after battling Stage 3 germ cell cancer, according to the outlet. “He died peacefully in the arms of his family who loved and adored him,” his family said in a statement to E! News, elaborating on his death. “He fought with incredible bravery for the past year, and maintained his wicked wit and humor to the very end, they noted.”
Cormac did not follow his father’s footsteps as an actor, who is known for his roles in films such as 1994’s Pulp Fiction and 1995’s Rob Roy, but he was a budding musician at the time of his death. Scroll on to learn more about Cormac’s music and who he was as a person.
Cormac Was A College Graduate
Cormac was born in 1996 and has one older brother, Hunter. Cormac was living in Los Angeles at the time of his death, but he lived on the East Coast when he attended college in Vermont. He graduated from a private liberal arts college, Bennington College. His major is unknown.
Cormac Was A Lifelong Musician
“Cormac was an exceptionally gifted and extraordinary musician whose passion and love for making music stretched back to when his guitar was bigger than he was,” his family said in a statement to E! News when announcing his death. “A guitarist, composer and producer wise beyond his years, Cormac’s career was just beginning to flourish.”
Cormac’s love for music was evident on his Instagram page, as most of his content showed him creating music or promoting his latest show. He released his debut EP, Python, in 2018, and he posted new music on his Soundcloud account through the beginning of 2022. He also impressively contributed to the music for Michel Franco’s 2021 film New Order, which was nominated for several awards at the Venice Film Festival. “Thrilled to have contributed to this film’s original score. Michel Franco really made something riveting and suspenseful,” Cormac wrote in July 2021 when promoting the movie.
Cormac Wanted Other People To Succeed
Cormac was fully supportive of his fellow musicians and took to Instagram on Aug. 16, 2022 — what would be his last post — to compliment the talented artists he has come across over the years. “All of you are so talented and it blows me away what I see every day when I scroll through. It really does,” he gushed, as seen in the above clip. “What you guys make is incredible and just sink your teeth in and remember that life is short and you don’t always get to choose your destiny and you don’t always get to choose your, you know, your future, but just be an undeniable force that lives and breathes the thing that you claim that you love and that you are and really do it. If it makes you happy, really do it. And that’s all I got and I love you.”
Cormac Stayed Positive Throughout His Battle Against Cancer
Cormac opened up about his cancer diagnosis for the first time in July 2022 in the caption of the below video of himself playing guitar. He openly spoke about his struggles with a positive mindset and proudly stated that even though cancer had taken a toll on him, it had not dampened his spirit. “In November of 21 I was diagnosed with stage 3 germ cell cancer,” he began. “Since then I’ve been fighting it daily, throwing everything I can at it. Chemo, high dose chemo, medication, transplants, transfusions, surgeries etc. It is called Choriocarcinoma, it is rare, and it has managed to stay many steps ahead of me no matter what I throw at it. It has taken away half of my hearing, 60pounds of weight, my confidence, and will continue its murderous path until I can manage to stop it some how, and kill it.”
He continued, “But it hasn’t taken away my will to survive, or my love of making music. It hasn’t taken me down yet. If you or someone you love is effected by cancer, please feel free to reach out for it is an emotional rollercoaster unlike anything else. Love to you all please make sure to do the things that you love. Life is short. It is chaos. And you never know when it’s going to be you. Be well and go to the doctor.”
Cormac Was A Cat Dad
Although music was Cormac’s life, he showed that he still had much more love to give, including to his cat. He shared a few posts about his beautiful striped, brown cat on his feed, including a post of his cat lying next to a guitar. “Two beautiful things that rhyme..” he captioned the picture. One follower guessed that he meant “cat” and “strat”, with “strat” being a shortened term for “stratocaster”, a type of electric guitar.