Julian Sands was blacklisted from Hollywood after starring in 'grotesque' film

19 January 2023 , 10:22

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Julian Sands was blacklisted from Hollywood after starring in 'grotesque' film

Hollywood actor Julian Sands never set his sights on fame and fortune - and in fact nearly stopped acting altogether after one film he starred in was critiqued so badly.

Movie 'Boxing Helena' was universally panned, and saw Hollywood stars Kim Basinger and Madonna quit during filming. Sands, as the lead, played a grotesque surgeon who quadruple-amputates his beautiful but cruel obsession Sherilyn Fenn.

The actor, 65, is best known for his roles in hit TV shows like Gotham, Elementary, Dexter and Smallville as well as Oscar-nominated films like A Room With A View. He has been missing for almost a week after hiking in the Mount Baldy area of California.

Boxing Helena was met with criticism and poor ratings when it was released in 1993 (Main Line/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

Friends, family and fans are praying for the Hollywood star's safe return, after going missing in an 'extremely dangerous' Californian mountain range where two people have died in recent weeks.

The actor, who has often spoken about his passion for mountaineering and hiking, is a well known figure in Hollywood since the 90s. One film nearly saw the end of his acting career after it was criticised so badly.

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1993 film 'Boxing Helena' saw Sands in a difficult position, as many of his roles in the 90s proved controversial or unpopular with film critics. Speaking in an interview with The Guardian in 2018, Sands revealed: "I didn’t want to become a Hollywood actor. I was looking for something exotic, things that took me out of myself.

The 'grotesque' Boxing Helena was one of Sands' controversial roles in the 1990s (Getty Images)

Actress Kim Basinger quit before filming, and was forced to pay almost $9 million in damages for breaching her informal contract (Getty Images)

"I think I found myself a little boring."

Discussing his controversial role in the psycho-sexual thriller Boxing Helena, Sands described the film: "It just got the worst reviews and was dismissed as kind of pornographic. But, actually, the poetic and political content is, I think, very enduring."

A review on film website Rotten Tomatoes describes the film as "a disturbing concept marred by graceless execution, Boxing Helena is a psychosexual drama that proves more tedious than provocative."

Written and directed by Jennifer Lynch, her debut film was considered career suicide and Lynch didn't make another film for 15 years.

Madonna was initially offered the female lead but quit before filming began (Getty Images)

Kim Basinger met with director Lynch but quit before filming commenced (Getty Images)

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 1993, Lynch said: "The moment I sat down to write the screenplay I knew this wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea. There are a lot of very powerful images in the idea of a woman in a box. It’s about being a victim. We’re always boxing ourselves and other people into things."

She added: "Growing up, I was taught that if something comes into your mind, you shouldn’t stomp that thought out. Don’t put up fences that have been determined by someone else. Knock those things down."

The film also struggled to cast the female lead, with both Madonna and Kim Basinger backing out of the role before filming.

Basinger was forced to pay production company Main Line films almost $9 million in damages for breaching her informal contract by refusing to continue with the movie.

Niamh Spence