Star’s trek to Olympic gold glory
Ben Cross Actor BORN DECEMBER 16, 1947 – DIED AUGUST 18, 2020, AGED 72
BEN CROSS was famed for his roles as British Olympic athlete Harold Abrahams in the 1981 classic Chariots Of Fire, and 2009’s Star Trek as Vulcan astrophysicist Sarek. A Rada-trained actor who started out on the stage, Cross transitioned to the screen after a small part in Richard Attenborough’s epic Second World War film A Bridge Too Far in 1977.
He may have considered it to be as a “glorified extra” but that same year he became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The following year he played the corrupt lawyer Billy Flynn in Chicago, which is said to have earned him his career-defining role in Chariots Of Fire. He shone as the English Jewish athlete who ran to overcome anti-Semitism in the real-life story based on two young men at the 1924 Olympics.
Despite two relative unknowns starring in the main roles, Ian Charleson played Eric Liddell, it was a smash hit and the recipient of several Oscars and Bafta awards.
Cross would never quite match that heady success again and he later commented: “A film like that is professionally life-changing. Suddenly, you get offered lots of work, which is lovely. But since then I have done 80 or 90 projects, none of which have been in any way as successful.”
It was only when his agent put him forward for Star Trek that luck intervened. The film’s director J.J. Abrams just happened to see a shot of Cross’ character in the fourth Species film turn to camera and knew instantly he would be right for Sarek.
Harry Bernard Cross was born in London. His father, Michael, was a doorman and nurse, while his mother Catherine was a cleaner.
He attended Bishop Thomas Grant School in Streatham, south London, and worked manual jobs after leaving education with one
O-level. After finding work with a local theatre, he began helping out with the props before moving into management and acting. He had a strong work ethic, starring in a succession of productions including Macbeth and Death Of A Salesman before finding fame.
Before securing Chariots Of Fire, he “trained like a madman just in
case” he got the part. And its barefoot running opening sequence was as brutal as it looked.
“And it was bloody cold,” Cross later quipped.
He died in Vienna following a short illness and is survived by his third wife, Deyana Boneva, plus a son and daughter from his first marriage.