Swedish actor Björn Andrésen, who was called "the most beautiful boy in the world," has died at the age of 70.
On the 27th (local time), according to foreign outlets including the Daily Mail, Andrésen died last Saturday after battling cancer. Christina Lindström, director of the documentary "The Most Beautiful Boy in the World," which depicts his life, said she heard the news from his daughter and mourned, saying, "He was a brave person who shared his painful life with the world."
Born in 1955 in Stockholm, Sweden, Andrésen rose to international stardom after appearing in director Luchino Visconti's 1971 film "Death in Venice." At the time he was a 15-year-old boy who played the role of Tadzio, the boy who fascinates the protagonist Gustav von Aschenbach (played by Dirk Bogarde).
Visconti searched across Europe for "pure beauty" and ultimately chose Andrésen, after which he was called "the most beautiful boy in the world" and became a global icon.
But that praise became a lifelong burden for Andrésen. He recalled in an interview, "After filming ended, I felt like meat thrown to wolves."
Stories that Visconti took him to gay clubs to promote the film or demanded he undress during auditions later became controversial. Andrésen confessed, "By then my life had already fallen into the swamp of sexual objectification."
Once as popular as an idol in Japan, he struggled with alcohol and depression as the years passed, and a 2021 documentary revealed his recent state living alone in a shabby apartment.
Despite that, he never gave up his passion for music and acting, and in 2019 he returned to the screen appearing in director Ari Aster's film "Midsommar."
Andrésen grew up without his father, and his mother took her own life when he was 10. He was then raised by his grandparents. After marriage he had two children, but suffered the tragedy of losing his son Elvin to sudden infant death at nine months. He said, "The medical cause is sudden infant death syndrome, but my diagnosis was 'a lack of love.'" His life moved from a shining symbol of beauty to a solitary artist and a courageous witness who revealed human wounds.
[Photo] Film still, ⓒGetty Images (unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited)
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