The 'Empire of the Sun' actor has spoken out for the first time about the disappearance of his former 'Killing Fields' co-star, describing it as a 'great loss.'
- Feb 26, 2023
AceShowbiz - John Malkovich found solace knowing the fact his "closest friend," Julian Sands, went missing doing something he loved. The "A Room with the View" actor hasn't been found since he went hiking in Mount Baldy over a month ago and his pal - who he met on the set of "The Killing Fields" in 1983 - believes his adventurer buddy made a "choice" in putting himself at risk of a "catastrophic and immediate error," and suggested he doesn't think he will be found alive.
"I haven't really talked about what happened with Jules. But, in a way, it's a choice, because he was an inveterate mountain climber/hiker," John, who can next be seen on screen with Julian in "Seneca - On the Creation of Earthquakes", told The Guardian newspaper.
"He was always tramping off to Kilimanjaro, or Antarctica, or the Andes, or the Alps - a very experienced climber who'd been through very hairy experiences. I suppose the particular conditions on the ground that day on Mount Baldy must have led to some sort of catastrophic and immediate error that was irreversible."
"That was my instinct upon hearing it. But he knew what the conditions were, and that's what he loved to do. He found great solace in the solitude of that. But I certainly don't think all people choose their deaths. Some die horribly from myeloid leukemia when they're three years old. I don't think that's a choice; I think that's a pretty grotesque notion. Death, we finally meet up with it by chance on the hazardous path from one light to another and we say to ourselves, so that's all it is?"
The 69-year-old actor regrets never visiting Julian's native Yorkshire with him over the years. He added, "I love Jules. He was someone who was very, very clever. I know his ex-wife, Sarah terribly well and their son, Henry, is my godson. And I introduced Jules to Evgenia [his wife], who's an old, old friend. I know their daughters well. But I unfortunately never got to go up to Yorkshire with him. It's a great loss."
