Julian Sands’ ex-wife says he ‘pushed himself to the limit’ ahead of untimely mountain death

The ex-wife of actor Julian Sands has spoken out about his ambitious nature and how it was a likely contribution to his unfortunate death earlier this year.

The A Room with a View star was reported missing in January after he failed to return from a hike in the Mount Baldy region of the San Gabriel Mountains in California.

In June, the prolific actor was confirmed dead by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department after his remains were discovered by hikers on the mountain. He was 65.

Sarah Sands, an author and former Evening Standard editor, was married to the British star from 1984 to 1987. They had one child together: a son named Henry, now 37.

In a new interview, Sarah descibed how her late ex-husband often “pushed himself” and grew restless after having career success in Britain and starting a family.

“He didn’t leave me for anyone else. There wasn’t a plan. He just said he was going to California,” she told the Daily Mail.

“He always had to take the hard path. Even at the end he sought the challenge. That was why he pushed himself beyond the limits of human endurance on the mountain.”

Sands amassed more than 150 credits in a 40-year career in television and film. He was also an avid hiker and often ventured out on mountain climbs alone. In 2020, he told The Guardian that said he was happiest when he was “close to a mountain summit on a glorious cold morning”.

Elsewhere in the interview (published late on Friday 18 August), Sarah, who currently sits on the board at Channel 4, spoke about how their son Henry ventured out to find Julian soon after his second wife, Evgenia, informed them he was missing.

Extreme snowy conditions meant the search was halted for several months before Henry and rescue services made further attempts to find him in June.

“He prepared the climb well; he understood Jules’ route and it was moving when he got to the summit and found thousands of volunteers appearing, and the local mountain rescue teams had been terrific,” Sarah said of Henry’s attempt.

“He came back down about two days later, then Julian was found about 100 yards from where he had been looking. Henry made his peace with that. We know now Jules didn't survive the storm. I don’t want to think about whether he died quickly.”

In a statement about the actor’s death published in June, his family said they were continuing to keep him “in our hearts with bright memories”.

Last month, the group of hikers who found Sands’ remains spoke of their “surreal” discovery.