Julian Sands

Actor

About

Birth Place

Yorkshire, England, GB

Born

January 04, 1958

Biography

Tall, blond and striking, with angular features and an unmistakable European air, British actor Julian Sands looked right at home in the tasteful historical dramas, gothic horror films, and international espionage roles he became known for. This veteran actor started out charming audiences in the 1985 film "A Room With A View," but darker roles in "Warlock" (1989), "Boxing Helena" (1993)...

Filmography

Crooked House (2017)

The Chosen (2016)

Extraordinary Tales (2015)

Voice

Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (2014)

A Doll's House (2012)

Suspension of Disbelief (2012)

Photos & Videos

View All

Room With A View, A (1986) -- (Movie Clip) You'd Have To Fly Over The Wall

Room With A View, A (1986) -- (Movie Clip) I Promessi Sposi

Family & Companions

Sarah Sands

Wife

Journalist. Divorced c. 1986.

Evgenia Citkowitz

Wife

Screenwriter.

Biography

Julian Sands was born in Otley, the Yorkshire region of England, in January of 1958. He was classically trained in drama at the Lord Wandsworth College in Hampshire and the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, where one can imagine he refined his elegant and distinct speaking voice. He joined London's Forum Theatre Company and was active with stage work, while dipping his t into a film career by landing a series of supporting roles in well-respected films like Derek Jarman's short "Broken English," Roland Joffe's Academy Award-winning "The Killing Fields" (1984) and in lighter fare like "Oxford Blues" (1984) and "After Darkness"(1985).

In 1985, James Ivory took a chance on the fair-haired unknown, casting him as the romantic lead in the film adaptation of E.M. Forsters' "A Room with a View," which was the year's critical fave and a Golden Globe and Oscar-nominee for Best Picture. Sands portrayed George Emerson, a Victorian non-conformist with literary leanings and a straightforward romantic manner that sent the object of his affection (Helena Bonham Carter) into a whirlwind of confusion over societal norms. The likeable film earned Sands a pile of attention from swooning females and casting directors alike, with film and TV opportunities abounding as a result. Not surprisingly, he moved from London to Hollywood to make these opportunities happen.

Sands entered the world of the "big" Hollywood picture with parts in middle-of-the-road comedies like "Vibes" (1988) and "Arachnophobia"(1990), but by this point, had tapped into what would be a popular genre for his particular look - the stylized sexual horror film. He played author Percy Shelly in "Gothic" (1986) and further explored the realm of night-dwelling demons in films like "Siesta" (1988), "Warlock" (1989) and "Warlock: The Armageddon" (1993). Sands would revisit the period costume closet to play composer Franz Liszt in "Impromptu" (1991), before associating himself with several films which gained wide attention for their controversial natures - David Cronenberg's creepy "Naked Lunch" (1991) and the daring drama "Boxing Helena" (1992), in which he starred as a psychotic doctor with a fetish for amputees.

In 1994, Sands began what would become a lengthy working relationship with British director Mike Figgis, appearing in the heavy drama "The Browning Version." The following year, he combined everything he'd learned in psycho-sexual roles and added a sinister Eastern Block twist to create the pimp in Figgis' Academy Award-winning "Leaving Las Vegas"(1995). Figgis, who had always had a strained relationship with the Hollywood system, cast Sands in "The Loss of Sexual Innocence" (1999) before deciding to take a more experimental direction in filmmaking. Sands followed him into this cutting edge territory by appearing in the technically ambitious film, "Timecode," (2000), which was shot with four cameras simultaneously and presented in four quadrants on one screen.

In 1998, Sands enjoyed the opportunity to work with legendary Italian director Dario Argento on the critically bombed Italian filmed version of "Phantom of the Opera" before TV roles began to take up the bulk of his schedule. He starred in the miniseries "Rose Red" and "Napoleon" and began a string of one-offs on popular series such as "The L Word" (HBO, 2004-), "Stargate SG-1" (Syndicated, 1997-) and "Law & Order: SVU" (NBC, 1999-). In 2006, Sands got a profile boost and a regular paycheck when he was cast as the villainous Vladimir Bierko in the award-winning action series "24" (Fox, 2001-). Bierko was killed (and had his knees broken) by Jack Bauer during season five.

Filmography

Life Events

1981

TV debut in "A Married Man" on England's Channel Four (syndicated in 1984)

1982

First appearance in feature film, "Privates on Parade"; had one-line part

1984

Had a featured role in Roland Joffe's "The Killing Fields"

1984

Appeared in the comedy "Oxford Blues"

1985

Featured in the NBC TV-movie "Romance on the Orient Express"

1986

Played Percy Bysshe Shelley in "Gothic", a Ken Russell film based loosely upon the memoirs of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

1986

Had a memorable featured role in the Merchant-Ivory production "A Room With a View"

1987

Starred in the Robert Altman-directed ABC TV-movie presentation "The Room", based on Harold Pinter's one-act play

1988

Featured in the quirky psychic comedy "Vibes"

1989

Starred as a 17th-century "Warlock" in Steve Miner's time travel adventure

1990

Featured in the thriller "Arachnophobia"

1990

Had a starring role in "Il Sole anche di notte", a Italian-French co-production helmed by the Taviani brothers

1991

Played Franz Liszt in James Lapine's "Impromptu" and Gustav Jung in Carlo Lizzani's "Cattiva"

1991

Had a supporting role in David Cronenberg's ambitious "Naked Lunch"

1992

Acted in TNT's "Grand Isle", a TV-movie drama based on Kate Chopin's "The Awakening"

1993

Starred in Jennifer Chambers Lynch's notorious directorial debut "Boxing Helena"

1993

Reprised titular role in "Warlock: The Armageddon"

1994

Played a leftist German author encountering the rise of facism in 1920s Italy in Klaus Maria Bransauer's "Mario and the Magician"

1994

Co-starred in Mike Figgis' "The Browning Version", the first of several collaborations with the director

1995

Acted in the ABC TV-movie "The Great Elephant Escape"

1995

Had a supporting role in Figgis' "Leaving Las Vegas"

1996

Had a guest starring role on an episode of "Chicago Hope" (CBS)

1997

Appeared in the Mike Figgis drama "One Night Stand"

1999

Starred as "The Phantom of the Opera" in Dario Argento's reworking of the classic tale

1999

Reteamed with Figgis, starring in the episodic "The Loss of Sexual Innocence"

2000

Played King Louis XIV in Roland Joffe's "Vatel", the story of a chef and entertainer hired to fete the monarch

2000

Acted in Figgis' experimental "Timecode", a presentation of four fully improvised movies filmed in a single take and exhibited on a quadruple split screen