# Julian Sands

Julian Richard Morley Sands (4 January 1958 – c. 13 January 2023) was an English actor.
Sands had his breakout role as George Emerson in A Room with a View (1985) and went on to appear in The Killing Fields (1984), Gothic (1986), Siesta (1987), Warlock (1989), Arachnophobia (1990), Naked Lunch (1991), Boxing Helena (1993), Leaving Las Vegas (1995), The Medallion (2003), Ocean's Thirteen (2007), and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). His television roles included Nick Hardaway in Rose Red (2002), Vladimir Bierko in 24 (2006), Jor-El in Smallville (2009–2010), and the voice of Valmont in Jackie Chan Adventures (2000–2002).
In January 2023, Sands went missing while hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains. Five months later, his remains were discovered in the area he had been visiting.

## Early life

Julian Richard Morley Sands was born in Otley on 4 January 1958, the son of Conservative Party councillor Brenda (née Leach) and soil analyst William Sands. His mother was also a leading figure in the local amateur dramatic society. He was educated at Lord Wandsworth College in Long Sutton, Hampshire, then studied at London's Central School of Speech and Drama.

## Career

Sands began his film career appearing in supporting roles in films, including Oxford Blues (1984) and The Killing Fields (1984). He also had a cameo as a Greek soldier in the BBC adaptation of The Box of Delights in 1984. He appeared opposite John Hurt in the Swiss horror film After Darkness in 1985. He was cast as the romantic lead in the 1985 film A Room with a View. Following the success of A Room with a View and Ken Russell's Gothic (1986) Sands dropped out of Maurice and decided to move to Hollywood to pursue a career in American films, where he appeared in a range of roles.
Sands played the title role in the horror film Warlock (1989) and its sequel Warlock: The Armageddon (1993), the role of Franz Liszt in Impromptu (1991), the role of Yves Cloquet in Naked Lunch (1991), and prominent roles in Arachnophobia (1990), Boxing Helena (1993), Tale of a Vampire (1992), and Leaving Las Vegas (1995). He played Erik, aka the Phantom in the 1998 horror-film version of The Phantom of the Opera. He played Laurence Olivier in BBC Four's In Praise of Hardcore (2005), a drama about the critic and impresario Kenneth Tynan.
In television work, he voiced Valmont in seasons 1 and 2 of Jackie Chan Adventures, before being replaced by Andrew Ableson and Greg Ellis in the remaining seasons. He played the Doci of the Ori in two episodes of the ninth season of Stargate SG-1 (a role he reprised in the film, Stargate: the Ark of Truth). He played a college professor in a Season One episode of The L Word. In 2002, he starred in Stephen King's Rose Red and the Austrian ambassador Klemens von Metternich in the miniseries Napoléon. In the 2006 season of 24, he played terrorist Vladimir Bierko.
Sands played Jor-El, Superman's father, in the ninth season of Smallville, and reprised the role in the series' final (tenth) season. In 2009, he played Reg Hunt in Bollywood Hero. In 2012, he played Alistair Wesley in the seventh episode of the second season of Person of Interest.
In August 2011, he appeared onstage at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in A Celebration of Harold Pinter, directed by John Malkovich at the Pleasance Courtyard. The play transferred to the Irish Repertory Theatre, in New York. His performance in the play was nominated for "Outstanding Solo Performance" for the 58th Annual Drama Desk Awards (2013).
In 2011, Sands appeared in the mystery thriller film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, an English-language remake of the original version, as the younger Henrik Vanger. In 2012, Sands voiced the character of DeFalco in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. In 2013, Sands appeared as Miles Castner, a wealthy international businessman, during the eighth season of Dexter.

## Personal life

Sands was married to Sarah Harvey, a British journalist and author, from 1984 until 1987. The couple had one son. On 22 September 1990, Sands married Evgenia Citkowitz – an American playwright, author, and journalist who is the daughter of Polish-American composer Israel Citkowitz and Lady Caroline Blackwood – after being introduced by John Malkovich, a friend of Sands. The couple had two daughters. Sands was fiercely protective of his family and rarely spoke about his wife or children in interviews.
Sands and his family lived in Los Angeles in the United States from 1990 until his death.

## Disappearance and death

On 13 January 2023, Sands, a dedicated mountaineer, went hiking at Mount San Antonio, California, in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles, and was reported missing later that evening. The initial search was hampered by severe storms that occurred shortly after he went missing. His car was located on 18 January. The following day, it was reported that Sands' three adult children had joined the ground search for their father. His son Henry, along with an experienced climber, was retracing the route his father was believed to have taken. According to reports, Sands's mobile phone was last tracked from a pinged location on 15 January, suggesting it had run out of power.
Around the time of his disappearance, Sands was believed to be traversing the Baldy Bowl Trail, "which climbs 3,900 feet (1,200 m) over 4.5 miles (7.2 km) to the highest summit in the San Gabriel Mountains". Reports state there was "evidence of avalanches" in the region. A representative of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department (SBSD) confirmed that "the air search is being resumed, but we have not been able to resume a ground search yet due to icy conditions and a threat of avalanches." The Sands family put out a statement on the 11th day after Sands went missing, praising "the heroic search teams" and their efforts "on the ground and in the air to bring Julian home".
On 25 January, Nick Sands, one of Sands's four brothers, was quoted by the BBC as saying, "I have come to terms with the fact he's gone and for me that's how I've dealt with it." Henry Sands told The Times on 14 April that he was "of course, realistic about the impact on the search of the weather conditions over the last three months", in light of the 40-year record snowfall in California, and that he looked forward to the resumption of the search as the weather improved and that the search for his father continues.
On 19 June, five months after Sands disappearance, the SBSD posted an update stating that more than 80 search and rescue volunteers had descended into remote areas across Mount Baldy to search for Sands on 17 June. The advisory stated that since January, there had been eight official search missions to find Sands, exceeding 500 volunteer search hours. On 23 June, the Sands family released a statement saying, "We continue to hold Julian in our hearts with bright memories of him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of the natural world, and the arts, and as an original and collaborative performer".
On 24 June, hikers found human remains in the area where Sands had disappeared. The remains were positively identified as Sands's on 27 June. On 24 July, the cause of death was listed as "undetermined" due to "the condition of the body ... [which is] common when dealing with cases of this type."

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1983 | Privates on Parade | Sailor | |
| 1984 | Oxford Blues | Colin Gilchrist Fisher | |
| 1984 | The Killing Fields | Jon Swain | |
| 1985 | After Darkness | Laurence Hunningford | |
| 1985 | The Doctor and the Devils | Dr. Murray | |
| 1985 | A Room with a View | George Emerson | |
| 1986 | Gothic | Percy Bysshe Shelley | |
| 1987 | Siesta | Kit | |
| 1988 | Vibes | Dr. Harrison Steele | |
| 1988 | Wherever You Are... [pl] | Julian Castor | |
| 1989 | Warlock | Warlock | |
| 1989 | Tennessee Nights | Wolfgang Leighton | |
| 1989 | Manika, une vie plus tard | Daniel Mahoney | |
| 1990 | Arachnophobia | Dr. James Atherton | |
| 1990 | The Sun Also Shines at Night | Sergio Giuramondo | |
| 1991 | Impromptu | Franz Liszt | |
| 1991 | The Wicked | Gustav | |
| 1991 | Grand Isle | Alcee Arobin | |
| 1991 | Husband and Lovers | Stefan | |
| 1991 | Naked Lunch | Yves Cloquet | |
| 1992 | Tale of a Vampire | Alex | |
| 1992 | The Turn of the Screw | Mr. Cooper | |
| 1993 | Boxing Helena | Dr. Nick Cavanaugh | |
| 1993 | Warlock: The Armageddon | Warlock | |
| 1994 | The Browning Version | Tom Gilbert | |
| 1994 | Mario and the Magician | Professor Fuhrmann | |
| 1995 | Leaving Las Vegas | Yuri Butso | |
| 1995 | America | | |
| 1996 | Never Ever | Roderick | |
| 1997 | One Night Stand | Nurse Chris | |
| 1998 | The Phantom of the Opera | Erik, The Phantom of the Opera | |
| 1998 | Long Time Since | Michael James | |
| 1999 | The Loss of Sexual Innocence | Adult Nic | |
| 2000 | Mercy | Dr. Dominick Broussard | |
| 2000 | Timecode | Quentin | |
| 2000 | Vatel | Louis XIV | |
| 2000 | The Million Dollar Hotel | Terence Scopey | |
| 2000 | Love Me | The sailor | |
| 2001 | Hotel | Tour Guide | |
| 2002 | The Scoundrel's Wife | Dr. Lenz | |
| 2003 | The Medallion | AJ "Snakehead" Staul | |
| 2003 | Easy Six | Packard Schmidt | |
| 2004 | Romasanta | Manuel Blanco Romasanta | |
| 2005 | Her Name Is Carla | Bill | |
| 2006 | La piste | Gary | |
| 2007 | Ocean's Thirteen | Greco Montgomery | |
| 2008 | Stargate: The Ark of Truth | Doci | |
| 2008 | Cat City | Nick Compton | |
| 2008 | Heidi 4 Paws | Peter the Goatherder | Voice |
| 2008 | Demetra's Dream | Photoreporter | Short |
| 2009 | Blood and Bone | Franklin McVeigh | |
| 2009 | Second Chance | Principal | Short |
| 2010 | Golf in the Kingdom | Peter McNaughton | |
| 2010 | The Good Life | Robert | Short |
| 2010 | Assisting Venus | Dominic | |
| 2011 | The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Young Henrik Vanger | |
| 2011 | The Maiden and the Princess | Bernard | Short |
| 2012 | Hirokin | Viceroy Griffin | |
| 2012 | Suspension of Disbelief | DCI Hackett | |
| 2012 | Il turno di notte lo fanno le stelle | Mark | Short |
| 2013 | All Things to All Men | Cutter | |
| 2013 | The Last Impresario | Himself – Interviewee | |
| 2014 | Cesar Chavez | Victore Representative | |
| 2014 | Jetty | Himself | Short |
| 2014 | Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks | Winslow Cunard | |
| 2014 | GHB: To Be or Not to Be | Le client | |
| 2014 | Me | Sam Citkowitz | |
| 2015 | Extraordinary Tales | Narrator | Voice, segment: "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" |
| 2015 | A Postcard from Istanbul | Julian | Short |
| 2015 | Sariel | God | Short |
| 2016 | The Persian Connection | Evgeny | |
| 2016 | The Chosen | Kotov | |
| 2016 | Honey Flood | CD McKee | Short |
| 2016 | Surfing | Advertiser | Voice, short |
| 2017 | Crooked House | Philip Leonides | |
| 2017 | The Escape | Lambert | Short |
| 2017 | Borley Rectory | Narrator | |
| 2018 | Walk Like a Panther | Tony 'Sweet Cheeks' Smith | |
| 2018 | The Keeper | Fred Tilson | |
| 2018 | Toy Gun | Detective Antony Jonta | |
| 2019 | The Garden of Evening Mists | Older Frederik Gemmell | |
| 2019 | The Painted Bird | Garbos | |
| 2020 | Yeh Ballet | Saul Aaron | |
| 2020 | Death Rider in the House of Vampires | Count Holiday | |
| 2020 | Bobbleheads: The Movie | Purrbles | Voice, direct-to-video |
| 2021 | Benediction | Chief Medical Officer | |
| 2021 | The Survivalist | Heath Grant | Direct-to-video |
| 2021 | The Ghosts of Borley Rectory | Lionel Foyster | |
| 2022 | The Ghosts of Monday | Bruce | |
| 2023 | Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes | Rufus | Posthumous release |
| 2023 | Double Soul | Orlandi | Posthumous release |
| 2023 | The Piper | Gustafson | Posthumous release |
| 2023 | Body Odyssey | Kurt | Posthumous release |
| 2024 | The Last Breath | Levi | Posthumous release; final film role |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1982 | Play for Today | Groom | Episode: "Soft Targets" |
| 1983 | A Married Man | Guy Lough | 3 episodes |
| 1984 | The Box of Delights | Greek Soldier | Episode: "Beware of Yesterday" |
| 1984 | The Sun Also Rises | Gerald | Episode #1.3 |
| 1985 | Romance on the Orient Express | Sandy | Television film |
| 1985 | The Holy Experiment | Captain Arago | Television film |
| 1986 | Harem | Charles Forest | Television film |
| 1987 | Basements | Mr. Sands | Segment: "The Room" |
| 1989 | Murder by Moonlight | Maj. Gregorivitj Kirilenko | Television film |
| 1992 | Crazy in Love | Mark Constable | Television film |
| 1994 | Witch Hunt | Finn Macha | Television film |
| 1995 | End of Summer | Reverend Basil March | Television film |
| 1995 | The Great Elephant Escape | Clive Potter | Television film |
| 1995 | Biker Mice from Mars | Sir Lancelot | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Adventures from the Book of Virtues | Henry | Voice, episode: "Responsibility" |
| 1996 | The Tomorrow Man | Ken | Television film |
| 1996 | The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest | Kreed | Voice, episode: "Race Against Danger" |
| 1996 | Chicago Hope | Bradford Whittle | Episode: "Mummy Dearest" |
| 2000–2002 | Jackie Chan Adventures | Valmont | Voice, 26 episodes |
| 2002 | Rose Red | Nick Hardaway | 3 episodes |
| 2002 | Napoleon | Klemens von Metternich | Episode: "1812-1821" |
| 2002 | Ozzy and Drix | Penicillin G | Voice, episode: "Strepfinger" |
| 2004 | Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King | Hagen | Television film |
| 2004 | The L Word | Nick | Episode: "Lies, Lies, Lies" |
| 2005 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Barclay Pallister | Episode: "Design" |
| 2005 | Stargate SG-1 | Doci | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | Kenneth Tynan: In Praise of Hardcore | Laurence Olivier | Television film |
| 2006 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Philip Reinhardt | Episode: "Dramma Giocoso" |
| 2006 | 24 | Vladimir Bierko | 11 episodes |
| 2006 | The Haunted Airman | Dr. Hal Burns | Television film |
| 2007 | Agatha Christie's Marple | Thomas Royde | Episode: "Towards Zero" |
| 2007 | Blood Ties | Javier Mendoza | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Ghost Whisperer | Ethan Clark | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | Lipstick Jungle | Hector Matrick | 5 episodes |
| 2009 | Bollywood Hero | Reg Hunt | 3 episodes |
| 2009 | Beyond Sherwood Forest | Malcolm | Television film |
| 2009–2010 | Smallville | Jor-El | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Castle | Teddy Farrow | Episode: "Inventing the Girl" |
| 2011 | Above Suspicion | Damian Nolan | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | NTSF:SD:SUV:: | Doctor | Episode: "I Left My Heart in Someone's Cooler" |
| 2012 | Person of Interest | Alistair Wesley | Episode: "Critical" |
| 2013 | Dexter | Miles Castner | Episode: "Dress Code" |
| 2014 | Banshee | Yulish Rabitov | 3 episodes |
| 2014 | Banshee Origins | Yulish Rabitov | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Crossbones | William Jagger | 8 episodes |
| 2014 | The Village | Lord Kilmartin | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Unknown Heart [fr] | Richard Mellor | Television film |
| 2014 | Crónica de Castas | Anthony | Episode: "El hijo de la chingada" |
| 2015 | Gotham | Dr. Gerald Crane | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story | John Le Mesurier | Television film |
| 2017 | Man in an Orange Shirt | Caspar Nicholson | Episode #1.2 |
| 2017 | Will | Barrett Emerson | 4 episodes |
| 2018 | Medici: The Magnificent | Piero di Cosimo de' Medici | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | The Blacklist | Sutton Ross | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Elementary | Jasper Wells | Episode: "The Adventure of the Ersatz Sobekneferu" |
| 2019 | What/If | Liam Strom | 4 episodes |
| 2019 | Into the Dark | Steven | Episode: "A Nasty Piece of Work" |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Voice role | Ref. |
| 2012 | Call of Duty: Black Ops II | DeFalco | |