Julian Sands

Tall, gaunt, and particularly effective in horror and drama films, British actor Julian Sands was born in Otley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, to Brenda and William Sands. He came to the attention of NBC when the network cast him in the TV miniseries The Sun Also Rises (1984) and then with Anthony Hopkins in the television film A Married Man (1983). He drew attention in small roles in Privates on Parade (1983) and The Killing Fields (1984) but it was not until his funny and romantic role opposite Helena Bonham Carter in A Room with a View (1986), followed by his unusual role in Gothic (1986), that he began to garner audience acclaim.

He continued work on screen in Vibes (1988), Impromptu (1991) and Steven Spielberg's Arachnophobia (1990), until his most remembered role as Warlock (1989), directed by Steve Miner. The film was a major success and he returned for the sequel, Warlock: The Armageddon (1993). Other credits included Naked Lunch (1991), Tale of a Vampire (1992) and the title role in Dario Argento's The Phantom of the Opera (1998). Sands was more recently seen in Stephen King's Rose Red (2002), and had occasionally acted on the English stage.

Sands disappeared on January 13, 2023 after going for a hike near the Mount Baldy area of California's San Bernardino Mountains. Local authorities and search and rescue teams conducted over six weeks of multiple ground and aerial searches, which were unsuccessful. On June 24, 2023, hikers near Mount Baldy discovered human remains. On June 27, 2023, local authorities confirmed the remains to be those of Sands. He was 65 years old.