Actor Julian Sands found dead in California after going missing on hike

Julian Sands is best known for starring opposite Helena Bonham Carter in the 1985 film A Room with a View. He’s pictured above in Mexico City in May 2012.

Alexandre Meneghini/AP

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Alexandre Meneghini/AP

Julian Sands is best known for starring opposite Helena Bonham Carter in the 1985 film A Room with a View. He’s pictured above in Mexico City in May 2012.

Alexandre Meneghini/AP

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s office has confirmed the death of Julian Sands after human remains were found in Southern California’s Mount Baldy. He was 65 years old.

He was hiking Mount Baldy when his family reported him missing on January 13, 2023.

Sands had a wide and varied career but was best known for his role in the 1985 movie A Room with a View, starring opposite Helena Bonham Carter.

Sands learned acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. In A Room with a View, he played George Emerson, a love interest to the young upper-class Lucy Honeychurch, played by Carter. In 1986, he told NPR in an interview that he was well aware of the class dynamics at play in the movie. “Nobody’s actually seen to do anything other than live some leisurely life which allows them to pursue their own indulgences,” he said.

Sands’ acting career brought him an eclectic array of roles. His film credits include Arachnophobia, Leaving Las Vegas, and the Jackie Chan movie The Medallion. On TV, he appeared in small roles on shows such as Castle, Smallville and Dexter. In Season 5 of the action drama 24, he played the main villain Vladimir Bierko, a terrorist in possession of a deadly nerve gas.

He loved the outdoors. In a 2020 interview with The Guardian, he was asked when he was happiest. His answer was: “Close to a mountain summit on a glorious cold morning.”