‘Chariots of Fire’ star Ben Cross who appeared on ‘Star Trek’ dies at 72



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He was 72 years old, his manager told CNN in a statement.

Cross – who was recently working – died in Vienna, Austria, according to his family. Her daughter, Lauren, posted the news via her Facebook account, writing, “I’m heartbroken to tell you that my darling dad passed away a few hours ago. He had been ill for some time, but there was a rapid decline in the past. the week.”

Cross’s big breakthrough came when he was chosen as Olympic runner Harold Abrahams – a Jewish athlete who had to overcome prejudice – in “Chariots,” the true story of two champions at the 1924 Games. Ian Charleson played the part by Eric Liddell in the 1981 film, which memorably featured the scene of runners training on the beach to Vangelis’ synthesized score.

Cross went on to star in the BBC production “The Citadel” and in the ITV series “The Far Pavilions”. He also appeared in a 1984 American Express campaign linked to the Olympics, performing with his association “Chariots”, and a stage cover in “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial”, opposite Charlton Heston.

Despite his classical training, Cross often found himself in fantasy and science fiction.

In 1991, he was cast as the vampire Barnabas Collins in a miniseries cover of the macabre soap opera “Dark Shadows” for NBC. He then portrayed the villain in the 1995 film “First Knight,” which starred Sean Connery as King Arthur and Richard Gere as Lancelot.

Cross honed his sci-fi credentials as Spock’s father, Sarek, during the 2009 “Star Trek” reboot, along with Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto.

Other television roles included the main character in the miniseries “Solomon” and Captain Nemo in a CBS remake of “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”.

Born Harry Bernard Cross in London, he was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1970. A variety of stage roles followed before making his film debut in the WWII epic “A Bridge Too Far “.

Cross had remained active primarily in television, including in the series “Pandora” and “12 Monkeys”, and had recently completed a role in the upcoming horror film “The Devil’s Light”.

He is survived by his wife and two children.

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