Julian Sands and John Malkovich attend the premiere ofA Postcard from Istanbulon March 3, 2015, in London.Photo: David M. Benett/Getty
John Malkovichis reacting to the death of close friendJulian Sands.
While accepting the Grand Prix prize from the Foreign Press in Italy on Wednesday, the 69-year-old actor spoke with PEOPLE exclusively about Sands, who went missing in January while hiking California’s Mount Baldy and wasconfirmed deadlate last month.
Noting how he and Sands were “the greatest of friends since we met doing a film calledThe Killing Fieldsin 1983, the first film I ever did,” Malkovich said, “We stayed incredibly close since then.”
“I’ll miss him every day of my life, but such is life. You lose a lot along the road until you’re lost. And that’s the way life ends, I’m afraid,” he continued. “I’m very sad about it, but obviously of course mostly for his children.”
Added Malkovich, who is godfather to Sands' son Henry, “At my age, we get used to people dying. Many of my friends and colleagues are already gone, and I’ll join them one of these days. Such is life.”
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Julian Sands and John Malkovich inThe Killing Fields(1984).Warner Brothers/Courtesy Everett
Warner Brothers/Courtesy Everett
“The identification process for the body located on Mt. Baldy on June 24, 2023, has been completed and was positively identified as 65-year-old Julian Sands of North Hollywood. The manner of death is still under investigation, pending further test results,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner Department said in a statement.
The statement went on, “We would like to extend our gratitude to all the volunteers that worked tirelessly totry to locate Mr. Sands.”
The British actor is best known for roles in films like 1985’sA Room with a View, 1989’sWarlockand1990’sArachnophobia.
charley gallay/wireimage
Sands mostrecently appeared alongsideMalkovich in the movieSeneca: On the Creation of Earthquakes, which had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February.
During a press conference at festival, Malkovich explained that he and Sands “were very, very close” after knowing each other for nearly three decades, perDeadline.
“I’m a godfather to his first son from his first marriage to Sarah, who I know very well,” the actor explained to reporters, while discussing their new film. “I introduced him to his second wife, and we have been close since we met in 1993 on the set ofThe Killing Fields.”
“It’sa very sad event,” Malkovich said of Sands' disappearance, according to the outlet.
source: people.com
