Julian Sands spoke slowly and musically, with a faint constriction that could make him sound otherworldly. We value that strangeness in his romantic leads and villains, though so distinctive a manner needs the right part.
Fi1m perspective
A line delivered by Julian Sands tends to arrive slowly, in a musical voice with a faint constriction. He sounds a little removed from ordinary conversation. That suits the elegant, sinister characters he was often asked to play, but it also gives his romantic presence an eccentricity of its own. We enjoy that oddness, though he needs a part that can accommodate so noticeable a manner.
The small early parts in Oxford Blues (1984) and The Killing Fields (1984) gave way to George Emerson in A Room with a View (1985), the romantic lead that established him. His subsequent move to Hollywood did not produce a settled run of similar leading men. Warlock (1989) put him at the centre of a horror film as its charismatic villain; David Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch (1991) used him in support as Yves Cloquet. These were sensible uses of an actor who could look elegant and still seem peculiar.
Leaving Las Vegas (1995) uses that capacity for menace in Yuri, a pimp, though the film belongs to Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue. We were moved by the humour and tenderness they find between two lonely people, because their performances make the pain so convincing. Sands is part of a film we recommend strongly, with a reservation about director Mike Figgis’s tendency to make despair look desirable. The eight films he made with Figgis are also a reason to look beyond the romantic lead and the horror villain when considering his work.
Later work included television guest appearances and the young Henrik Vanger in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). We would be wary of calling that decline merely because the parts were smaller. There is no artistic obligation to remain a leading man. Begin with A Room with a View for the romance, then try Warlock for a less reassuring use of his charm.
Biography
Julian Sands was an English actor. Born on 4 January 1958 in Otley, Yorkshire, he trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. He began his screen career with supporting roles in Oxford Blues (1984) and The Killing Fields (1984).
Sands gained recognition for his role as George Emerson in A Room with a View (1985). He appeared in Warlock (1989), Arachnophobia (1990), Naked Lunch (1991) as Yves Cloquet, and Leaving Las Vegas (1995) as Yuri. Later credits include The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Ocean's Thirteen (2007), and television roles such as Jor-El in Smallville (2009–2010) and Vladimir Bierko in 24 (2006).
Sands went missing while hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains in January 2023; his remains were discovered in June of that year.
