Cormac Roth, musician and son of Tim Roth, dies aged 25

<span>Photograph: Sébastien Nogier/EPA</span>
Photograph: Sébastien Nogier/EPA

Cormac Roth, the musician and son of actor Tim Roth, has died at the age of 25.

The guitarist and composer had been diagnosed with stage 3 germ cell cancer in November 2021. He died on 16 October 2022.

“He was a wild and electric ball of energy and his spirit was filled with light and goodness,” a statement from his family reads. “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.”

Roth had announced the diagnosis on Instagram. He detailed that the cancer known as choriocarcinoma had taken away half of his hearing, 60lb of weight and his confidence. “Life is short,” he wrote. “It is chaos. And you never know when it’s going to be you. Be well and go to the doctor. Fuck cancer.”

In his last post, a video shared in August, he thanked his followers for their support. “You don’t always get to choose your destiny,” he said. “You don’t always get to choose your future.”

He released the album Python in 2018 and also assisted with the music for Michel Franco’s 2020 film New Order. He had also been releasing music on Soundcloud.

His family called him “an exceptionally gifted and extraordinary musician whose passion and love for making music stretched back to when his guitar was bigger than he was”. They added: “In Cormac’s words: ‘Make sure you do the things you love.’”

He is survived by his parents, Tim Roth and Nikki Butler, and brother, Hunter Roth.