British actor Ben Cross died in Vienna at the age of 72. The Austrian director Robert Dornhelm (“Das Sacher”, “Vienna Blood”) confirmed this to the KURIER on Tuesday. Dornhelm and Cross were friends, the two worked together on “The Venice Project” (1997) and “Spartacus” (2004).
Cross, born in London in 1947, has appeared in films such as “Great Expectations” (1947), “Turbulence” (1997) and “The Bible – Salomon” (1997). In “The Hour of the Winner” (in English: “Chariots of Fire”) he played the British athlete Harold Abrahams. The drama was named Best Picture at the Oscars in 1982. Other projects include “And Nietzsche was crying” (2007, in the role of Josef Breuer), “Star Trek” and the series “Banshee – Small Town. Big Secrets.”
Cross suffered from cancer and was in Vienna for treatment. “I had the great privilege to work with the wonderful Ben Cross twice. Ben was a sensitive humanist and a professional actor. I will miss him very much,” said Dornhelm. The actor had offered Dornhelm, who is currently working on the sequel to “Vienna Blood”, to take on a smaller role in the TV project.
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