It’s been five months since actor Julian Sands went missing. Back in January, right after his 65th birthday, Sands went hiking in Mount Baldy, California. During that time, Sands went missing, and as of June 2023, his disappearance remains an open investigation. Just a few days after he was declared missing, Sands’ car was found, then his three adult children joined the search for their father. Since January, there have been eight official search missions to find Sands, whose whereabouts remain unknown. After some setbacks due to severe weather conditions, the search for Sands has resumed.
Sands is famous for many roles, namely Jor-El in Smallville, Vladimir Bierko in 24, and Yulish Rabitov in Banshee, as well as movie roles in The Killing Fields, A Room with a View, Warlock, Arachnophobia, and Boxing Helena. Without a doubt, although it wasn’t a recurring role, one of Sands’ most significant appearances came in Fox’s Gotham, a drama series following a younger Bruce Wayne and the origins of the Rogues Gallery, all while seeing James Gordon climb the ranks in a corrupt Gotham City.
In the show, Sands portrays Gerald Crane, a biology professor and the innovator of the anti-fear formula, as well as Jonathan Crane’s father. Gerald’s wife, Karen, died in a house fire after Gerald failed to save her due to his pyrophobia. Instead, he grabbed his son and fled. Rather than word getting out that he allowed his wife to burn to death, Gerald took her body and crashed his car, making it look like she died in a car accident.
A year later, Gerald attended a phobia support group so as to assess the attendee’s greatest fears and kill them in that manner. Using the adrenal glands from their fresh corpses, Crane created the infamous fear toxin, which he used on himself and Jonathan. In his case, it led to his death, whereas it drove Jonathan insane, leading him to don the Scarecrow costume and assume that alias. Sands only appears in two episodes, but his presence helps to set the stage for Scarecrow’s eventual development.
As the search for Sands continues in the Californian mountains, we can only wait with bated breath to learn of his current status. At this time, it is unclear whether Sands is alive and well, but we’ll keep you updated on any developments.