In Memory Of The Great Julian Sands, I Went Back To Watch All His Films And Ranked My Favorites

You can celebrate the actor's life and legacy with these 19 excellent flicks.

Acclaimed British actor Julian Sands was sadly pronounced dead after going missing while hiking on Mount Baldy in January.

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Known for his striking good looks and effortless ability to bring gravitas to any film, Sands was able to dazzle audiences with memorable performances in period pieces, horror offerings, erotic pulp stories, and prestige drama.

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With this in mind, I've assembled 19 of Julian Sands's best films for those looking to memorialize and commemorate the versatile performer's finest hours.

Goldcrest Films

Honorable Mention: The Ghosts of Borley Rectory (2021)

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Directed by Steven M. Smith, The Ghosts of Borley Rectory surrounds the infamously haunted Borley Rectory, in which a paranormal investigator searches for the truth behind its myriad supernatural happenings. Though the film isn't among the top of the crop of Sands' filmography, the actor instantly elevates the film with his small role as a priest, which you can watch right now on Peacock.

1. Arachnophobia (1990)

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The directorial debut of Amblin Entertainment co-founder, Frank Marshall, Arachnophobia is a creepy, crawly creature feature that follows a sleepy California town that is terrorized by a newly-discovered species of spider that can kill a person with a single bite. Julian Sands has one of his most high-profile roles in the film, playing an entomologist who discovers the spiders in Venezuela but finds out his efforts to help with the threat have perilous consequences.

2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

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An English-language adaptation of Stieg Larsson's groundbreaking mystery novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo surrounds an embattled journalist and a reclusive hacker who cross paths while investigating a 40-year-old disappearance case for a wealthy businessman. It may be a small role, but Julian Sands has an essential role as a younger version of the aforementioned businessman as the facts of the case are recounted.

3. The Killing Fields (1984)

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A commercial and critical success based on the biographical novel by Sydney Schanberg, The Killing Fields follows journalists who are tasked with covering the Cambodian civil war in 1973, including a Cambodian interpreter who is forced into labor and imprisonment following the installation of a new totalitarian regime. In a breakout role, Julian Sands has a notable part as British journalist Jon Swain, who attempts to help the interpreter in trying to forge a new passport during his attempt to escape the Khmer Rouge.

4. Gothic (1986)

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From controversial filmmaker Ken Russell (Altered States), Gothic is an equally petrifying and provocative retelling of Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley's hedonistic visit to Lord Byron at Villa Diodati. Highly sexualized, surreal, and psychologically terrifying, Gothic is an underrated fright flick, and Sands' committed and emotional turn as the tormented Percy steals every scene in which he is featured.

5. Boxing Helena (1993)

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Another incredibly controversial film on this list that notoriously lost both Madonna and Kim Basinger in the titular role at the height of their acting careers, Boxing Helena surrounds an obsessive surgeon who kidnaps a former one-night-stand after a hit-and-run and amputates her limbs so he may keep her captive in his home. Written and directed by Jennifer Lynch, this dark and demented modern fairytale is anchored by unforgettable performances from Julian Sands and Twin Peaks breakout, Sherilyn Fenn.

6. A Room with a View (1986)

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Ranked by the British Film Institute as #73 among the Top 100 British Films in 1999, A Room with a View brings E.M. Forster's classic romance novel to the big screen, detailing the courtship of a young woman and a free-spirited young man amidst the repressed cultures of England and Italy in the early 1900s. One of the most acclaimed and successful films of 1986, A Room with a View launched the young leads, Julian Sands and the then-unknown Helena Bonham Carter, into on-screen stardom, as they held their own alongside a cast that included Maggie Smith, Judie Dench, Denholm Elliott, and Daniel Day-Lewis.

7. One Night Stand

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Following his Academy Award nomination on Leaving Las Vegas, director Mike Figgis was recruited to direct One Night Stand, a film about a married filmmaker who is sent into a downward spiral of guilt and deceit when the woman with whom he had a serendipitous one-night affair unexpectedly reappears in his life. Though the film failed to connect with audiences or critics, the film sports some truly stellar performances from its impressive ensemble, which includes Julian Sands, who shares most of his scenes alongside an amazing Robert Downey Jr.

8. Blood and Bone (2009)

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One of the more popular direct-to-video efforts for modern action star Michael Jai White, Blood and Bone follows an ex-convict who enters LA's underground fighting scene and aims to avenge his cellmate, who was murdered by high-ranking gangsters. The film features a rogue's gallery of IRL fighters and mixed martial artists, but Sands stands out among the cast as an illicit arms dealer with questionable allegiances who is responsible for arranging underground fights around the world.

9. Crooked House (2017)

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Adapted from the Agatha Christie book of the same name, Crooked House surrounds a private investigator who investigates the seemingly accidental death of a business tycoon after learning various members of his dysfunctional family had their own motives to send him to the grave. Sands expertly plays the bitter eldest son of the deceased, delivering an awesome performance alongside the likes of Gillian Anderson, Christian McKay, Christina Hendricks, Terence Stamp, and Glenn Close.

10. Ocean’s Thirteen (2007)

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In the third film of Steven Soderbergh's Ocean franchise, Danny Ocean and his band of thieves and con men team up with an old enemy to take down a casino mogul who has significantly harmed a member of his crew. Julian Sands may only appear in a small role in the film, as the inventor of an advanced security system, but Ocean's Thirteen was a notable step up from its immediate predecessor and served as a fitting send-off for its specific cast.

11. Benediction (2022)

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An affecting romantic drama that sadly flew under the radar in 2022, Benediction delves into the complicated life of British poet and World War I veteran Siegfried Sassoon, who spoke out against the war and was subsequently admitted to a psychiatric facility against his will. Headlined by Jack Lowden and Peter Capaldi as Sassoon throughout his life, Julian Sands has a small but memorable turn as a vindictive medical officer, showing he can still relish in his material regardless of the size of his part.

12. Cesar Chavez (2014)

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Directed by Diego Luna, Cesar Chavez is a biographical film surrounding the life of the titular labor leader, who co-founded the United Farm Workers in the face of racism and violence in 1970s California. Though Sands has a fairly small role in the film, Cesar Chavez provides the British actor with the chance to once again reunite with his Killing Fields costar, John Malkovich.

13. Hotel (2001)

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An ambitious blend of comedy, horror, and erotic thriller genres, Hotel follows a film crew that encounters a series of surreal individuals, including a sleazy documentarian, a hit man, a sex worker, and hotel staff members with a taste for human meat. An engaging experimental film bolstered by an amazing ensemble cast that includes David Schwimmer, Lucy Liu, Salma Hayek, Burt Reynolds, and John Malkovich, Hotel is yet another interesting collaboration between Mike Figgis and Julian Sands, the latter of which plays an eccentric tour guide who performs a strange musical number about umbrellas on a beach.

14. The Chosen (2016)

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Starring Alfonso Herrera of Ozark and Sense8 fame, The Chosen is a dramatic yet largely historically accurate retelling of the murder of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky. Julian Sands is outstanding in a meaty role as the intelligence officer behind the assassination, General Leonid Aleksandrovich Kotov, while the film further succeeds with great performances by Hannah Murray (Game of Thrones), Henry Goodman (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Frances Barber (Goal!).

15. Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

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An independent film phenomenon that earned Nicolas Cage the Academy Award for Best Actor, Leaving Las Vegas is a dramatic character study that examines the romance between a Las Vegas sex worker and a suicidal alcoholic. Sands shines in an intense role as the sex worker's violent, abusive pimp, performing opposite a career-best Elisabeth Shue.

16. Naked Lunch (1991)

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David Cronenberg's surreal and darkly comic adaptation of the "unadaptable" non-linear novel from William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch follows an exterminator who believes he is a secret agent who embarks upon a bizarre adventure that includes doppelgangers, talking insects, a monstrous typewriter and duplicitous bureaucrats while feeding his addiction to mind-altering substances. A trippy and gross mind-melter that forces you to go with the flow, Julian Sands has a memorable turn as a seductive Swiss gentleman with an incredibly eerie secret.

17. The Doctor and the Devils (1985)

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A creepy take on the true story of Burke and Hare, The Doctor and the Devils surrounds a visionary 19th-century anatomist whose open request for fresh corpses for research purposes inspires two lowlives to enact a "murder for profit" scheme. Headlined by Timothy Dalton, Jonathan Pryce, and Stephen Rea, Julian Sands does stellar work in a substantial role as a young doctor who is inspired to rescue a local sex worker from the murderous miscreants.

18. The Painted Bird (2019)

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A brutal and uncompromising adaptation of Jerzy Kosinski's seminal yet controversial novel about World War II, The Painted Bird follows a young boy whose appearance in the lives of strangers coincides with heinous actions and tragic coincidences. A shocking psychodrama in the vein of Come and See and Taxidermia, The Painted Bird features extraordinary yet harrowing performances from Barry Pepper, Harvey Keitel, Stellan Skarsgard, Udo Kier, and Julian Sands.

19. Warlock (1989)

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In one of Julian Sands' most iconic roles, the British actor played the titular role in Warlock, a horror film surrounding a 17th-century warlock and a witch-hunter who are transported to the 20th century which sets off a race against time to prevent the apocalypse. Sands makes the most of every second of screentime, chewing scenery and oozing wicked charisma across every frame of Warlock, making it essential viewing for those who want to see Sands completely in his element.