The official cause of Julian Sands’ death was announced six months after a hiker went missing in California
The official cause of Julian Sands’ death was announced by the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department on Monday, July 24.
The remains of the 65-year-old British actor were discovered in late June, more than five months after he failed to return from a hike in California’s Mount Baldy region on January 13.
Coroners have now officially ruled Sands’ cause of death as “undetermined,” police said.
“Cause is ‘undetermined’ based on the condition of the body and since no other factors were discovered during the coroner’s examination, this is often the case in cases of this nature.” This is the final decision,” Mara Rodriguez, public information officer for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department of Coroners, said in a statement to CNN on Monday.
An extensive search was launched for Sands, who was an avid hiker, but was complicated by poor weather conditions that continued into the spring. Authorities said it was not yet clear how he died.
A week before his remains were found, Sands’ family released a statement saying they would continue to keep him “in our hearts with fond memories.”
(Mike Lawn/Shutterstock)
“We are deeply grateful to the search teams and coordinators who worked tirelessly to locate Julian,” the sheriff’s department statement said.
“We continue to carry Julian in our hearts and fondly remember him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of nature and the arts, and an original and collaborative artist.”
During his lifetime, Sands appeared in more than 150 films and television series, including several Oscar winners.
The West Yorkshire-born actor began his career with supporting roles in projects such as 1984. Oxford Blues And The Killing Fieldsin which he played journalist Jon Swain.
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Sands spent time with the real Swain to prepare for the role and later opened up about it The guard: “I was warned by [director Roland Joffé] I had to keep my distance from John because he was an unstable character.
“And John had told Roland to stay away from me because I was an educated, sensible person who didn’t want to be distracted. In fact, we hit it off straight away. We’ve quoted and misquoted Pinter over and over again.”
Julian Sands and Helena Bonham Carter in A Room With a View
(Merchant Ivory/Goldcrest/Kobal/Shutterstock)
It was also on the set of The Killing Fields that Sands first met John Malkovich, an actor with whom he formed a strong and lifelong friendship.
Malkovich has described Sands as “a Tarzan” and “a physical entity of a physical force.”
“Julian is fierce and will never be constrained by rules or boundaries,” said a close friend of Sands The Independent after his disappearance. “He’s a Byron romantic and an adventurer drawn to the extremes of nature and enjoying the freedom of the mountains he conquers around the world.”
In 1985, Sands was cast in the lead role in the romance romance Merchant Ivory A room with a view, opposite Helena Bonham Carter. The film received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, winning three of them.
Sands followed with a role in Ken Russells Gothicplays poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.
It was around this time that Sands decided to move to the United States. He has since lived in California but has often returned to Europe to film.
After moving to the United States, Sands starred in a number of prominent films, including 1989’s Supernatural Horror. Sorcerer (and its 1993 sequel, Warlock: The Armageddon), historical drama impromptu (1991), horror comedy arachnophobia (1990) and the 1991 adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ Naked lunch.
In 1995, Sands played a supporting role in leave Las Vegasalongside Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue, won a Golden Globe for his efforts.
His later projects include a role alongside Jackie Chan in 2003 The medallionand a supporting role in David Fincher’s 2011 adaptation The girl with the dragon tattoo.
He is survived by his wife, the writer Evgenia Citkowitz, and their two sons; and another son, Henry, whom he shares with his first wife, journalist and editor Sarah Sands (née Harvey).