Ben Cross death: Star Trek and Chariots of Fire actor dies, aged 72

Cross appears in a forthcoming Netflix film starring Shailene Woodley and Felicity Jones

Ben Cross, the stage and film actor best known for his roles in Chariots of Fire and Star Trek, has died at the age of 72.

The actor’s family confirmed to Deadline that Cross died on Tuesday morning in Vienna, Austria.

His daughter Lauren shared the following announcement on Facebook: “I am utterly heartbroken to share with you that my darling father died a few hours ago.

“He had been sick for a while but there was a rapid decline over the past week. The press will be announcing his death soon, I just wanted you all—his most loyal and loving fans—to hear it from us first.

“Thank you for all your support over the years. He really enjoyed interacting with you.”

Ben Cross at an event on 25 February 2011 in West Hollywood, California. (David Livingston/Getty Images)

Born in London in 1947, Cross – whose birth name was Harry Bernard Cross – worked a series of jobs before being accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts at the age of 22.

After a couple of TV credits, his first film part came in the 1977 war film A Bridge Too Far.

Cross continued acting on television and in 1981 played the lead part of Harold Abrahams in director Hugh Hudson’s Chariots of Fire. The film ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1982.

Throughout the following two decades, the actor continued appearing both on the big and small screens, appearing in The Citadel, The Twilight Zone, and Dark Shadows, among other programmes.

In 2009, Cross portrayed Sarek, Spock’s father, in JJ Abrams’s Star Trek film.

Cross recently starred in The CW’s science fiction series Pandora. He is also part of the Netflix/Studiocanal adaptation of Jojo Moyes’s novel The Last Letter From Your Lover.

The project, currently in post-production, also stars Felicity Jones and Shailene Woodley.