‘I’ll Miss Him Every Day of My Life,’ John Malkovich Speaks on ‘Greatest’ Friend Julian Sands’ Death

John Malkovich, a close friend of the late Julian Sands, recently spoke about the actor’s death at a public event. Sands was reported missing in January 2023; his brother accepted his death weeks later.

In July 2023, John Malkovich attended the Foreign Press Awards in Italy, where he was honored with the Grand Prix prize. The actor spoke exclusively with People, reacting to the recently confirmed death of his close friend, Julian Sands, who went missing earlier in the year.

Malkovich noted that at his age, 69 years, one gets used to people dying. Many of the longtime film star’s colleagues and friends had already passed, and he knew he would join them “one of these days.”

“Such is life,” he reflected. But when it came to Sands, he said, “I’ll miss him every day of my life, but such is life. You lose a lot along the road until you’re lost. And that’s the way life ends, I’m afraid. I’m very sad about it, but obviously of course mostly for his children.”

Sands and Malkovich had been friends for decades before the former died. The two met while working on the 1983 film “The Killing Fields,” which was Malkovich’s movie debut. They became the “greatest of friends,” and remained “incredibly close” ever since.

Sands married twice in his lifetime, and from his first marriage, he welcomed a son, Henry. Malkovich became the young man’s godfather and helped his friend find new love with his now-widowed wife, Evgenia Citkowitz, with whom he had two kids.

About a month after Sands was reported missing, Malkovich touched briefly on the matter while promoting their last joint project, “Seneca — On the Creation of Earthquakes,” at the Berlin Film Festival. “It’s a very sad event,” he said.

By then, Sands’ brother, Nick Sands, had already said his goodbyes. “I have come to terms with the fact he’s gone and for me, that’s how I’ve dealt with it,” he stated in January 2023. Still, he noted that his brother’s wife and kids were hopeful he would return alive.