( CNN ) -- Acclaimed actor-director Richard Attenborough has died at 90 , the actor 's agent said . Attenborough is perhaps best known for his work on the 1982 film `` Gandhi , '' which won eight Academy Awards , including best picture and best director . The film took Attenborough some 20 years to make . `` I was bankrupt several times . I had to mortgage my house . My family suffered to a certain extent , '' he said . `` I placed things at risk because I cared about it so much . '' He died Sunday , according to his agent , Dallas Smith . The family is expected to make a statement Monday , Smith told CNN . `` Our thoughts are with them and his friends at this very sad moment as we mourn the passing of a truly great man of the cinema and the arts , '' Smith said . Attenborough began his career as a classically trained English actor and went on to star in such films as `` The Great Escape , '' `` Jurassic Park '' and a remake of `` Miracle on 34th Street . '' He was knighted in 1976 . British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted Sunday : `` His acting in 'Brighton Rock ' was brilliant , his directing of 'Gandhi ' was stunning -- Richard Attenborough was one of the greats of cinema . '' The cause of his death was not immediately clear . Attenborough 's marriage to actress Sheila Sim spanned seven decades and produced three children . `` My philosophy has always been that I believe that art is not an elitist gift for a few select people . Art is for everyone , '' he once said . Attenborough also appeared as Santa Claus in the 1994 remake of `` Miracle on 34th Street . '' After playing several characters in movies , he moved to the other side of the camera . `` It 's what I love . I 'm not a great movie director . I 'm not an auteur , '' he said of directing . `` I 'm a storyteller . I 'm a craftsman . And I love beyond anything else working with the actors and finding a way to make the actor believe that what they 're about to do is the best performance they 've ever given . '' He also appeared in several war movies , including `` The Great Escape '' with Steve McQueen . People we 've lost in 2014 .
' : Attenborough ` ` a truly great man of the world and the arts , '' his obituary tells us . He is perhaps best known for his work on the documentary film ` ` Gandhi '' The cause of death was not immediately clear . Attenborough also appeared in ` ` Jurassic Park '' and a remake of ` ` Miracle on 34th Street ''