Ben Cross, star of Chariots of Fire and Star Trek, has passed away

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Ben Cross, the English actor known for his powerhouse performance as the British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams for director Hugh Hudson's CHARIOTS OF FIRE, has passed away at 72. Word of Cross' death had reached the masses not long after the star of stage and screen had passed away in Vienna on Tuesday morning. In addition to his inspirational role for Chariots, Cross was also adept at playing villains, including Sarek, Star Trek's Vulcan astrophysicist, the Vulcan ambassador to the United Federation of Planets, and father of Spock, in the 2009 reboot.

Born Harry Bernard Cross in London in 1947, Cross began dabbling in the art of acting at a young age, appearing in grammar school plays but then leaving academics behind to bust his hump as a window cleaner, waiter, joiner, and carpenter before enrolling at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts at age 22. Once there, Cross' talents for the stage were celebrated by awarding him with the school's high and mighty Vanbrugh prize for the performance of the year. In time, and after dominating the small stage several times over, Cross landed his big-screen debut portraying Trooper Binns for Richard Attenborough's World War II epic A BRIDGE TOO FAR.

In 1978, Cross secured the part of Billy Flynn in the play Chicago, a role that would have international studio executives looking his way. In fact, it's been said that Cross's performance as Chicago's silver-tongued lawyer is what helped cast him alongside Ian Charleson, Ian Holm, and John Gielgud in CHARIOTS OF FIRE. In the film, two British track athletes, one a determined Jew, and the other a devout Christian, compete in the 1924 Olympics.

Following the tremendous success of Chariots, Cross went on to star as Dr. Andrew Manson for the 10-part BBC drama THE CITADEL. Once his role as the idealistic doctor was complete, Cross went on to star in the HBO spy film STEAL THE SKY as well as the NBC miniseries TWIST OF FATE.

In more recent times, Cross arrived as Harlan Fried for The CW series Pandora, then as Mr. Kane for 2019's WILDLINGS, a film that finds two women on the run from state police, with an abducted man on the back seat of their car. Earlier this year, Cross completed work on Georgi D. Kostov's THE REST IS ASHES, and Augustine Frizzell's LAST LETTER FROM YOUR LOVER, which is now in post-production.

We here at JoBlo would like to extend our sincere condolences to Mr. Cross's family, friends, and fans. May his work live on forever through the people and projects he'd cared so deeply about, and wish him safe passage to the Great Hereafter.