Movies

Julian Sands missing: British actor identified as hiker lost in California mountains

January 21, 2023

British actor Julian Sands has been identified as the hiker who went missing in the California mountains last week.

The 65-year-old, known for his role in the Oscar-nominated 1985 film A room with a view, has been missing in the Mount Baldy area since Friday, Jan. 13, authorities say.

He was reported missing by his wife, writer Evgenia Citkowitz, on Friday night and is believed to have been somewhere on the popular Baldy Bowl Trail in the San Gabriel Mountains. Mount Baldy is a 10,000 foot peak located northeast of Los Angeles in the Angeles National Forest.

Sands is an avid hiker and mountaineer who once described his happiest moment as “near a mountaintop on a glorious cold morning”.

Search and rescue teams were on the mountain looking for Sands, but had to put the search on hold due to extreme weather and the threat of an avalanche. Department spokeswoman Gloria Huerta told CNN.

Drones have been used to continue the search, but rescuers are limited with other resources due to the weather.

The Independent understands that Sands’ son, Henry, joined the search, accompanied by an experienced climber. Sands shares two daughters, Imogen and Natalya, with his wife Citkowitz. He shares Henry with his ex-wife, journalist and editor Sarah Sands (born Harvey).

California has been hit by a series of severe winter storms that have brought flooding and heavy snowfall to the drought-stricken state.

The sheriff’s department said in the past four weeks it has launched 14 search and rescue missions in the Mount Baldy area alone, with two hikers dying on the mountain.

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“These rescue missions were for lost, stranded and/or injured hikers. Unfortunately, in the past 4 weeks, two hikers have not survived after falling and getting injured,” the agency said on Facebook.

“Recent storms that have brought snow and ice conditions are not favorable for hikers, even those who feel they have a high level of experience.”

Sands, who lives in North Hollywood with Citkowitz, has appeared in more than 150 movies and TV shows during her career.

Born in Yorkshire, England, he moved to California in the 80s to pursue a career in Hollywood, after the success of the film directed by James Ivory A room with a view, the 1985 romance adapted from the 1908 novel by EM Forster.

Sands, who garnered attention for her debut performance in the 1984 film the killing fields, was cast in the lead role of George Emerson opposite Helena Bonham Carter’s Lucy Honeychurch. The film also starred Maggie Smith, Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench and Simon Callow in supporting roles.

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A success at the box office, A room with a view received critical acclaim upon its release and was nominated for eight Academy Awards at the 59th Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Sands’ career after A room with a view was eclectic, including horror, indie, romance and action comedy. He played the title role opposite Richard E Grant and Lori Singer in supernatural horror Warlock, resume the role for the sequel Warlock: Armageddon.

He played the composer Franz Liszt in unexpectedly in 1991, with Hugh Grant as Frederic Chopin and Judy Davis as George Sand.

Most recently, he appeared with James Bond star Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara in the Oscar-nominated English version of The girl with the dragon tattoo, in 2011.

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