The Star Trek family aches with the news that Ben Cross, who played Sarek in 2009’s reboot, died on Tuesday. The British talent was 72 and leaves an impressive legacy in Hollywood, also notably through his portrayal of Olympic champion Harold Abrahams in 1981’s Chariots of Fire, and Barnabas Collins in the ‘90s Dark Shadows television series. As word spread, Hollywood reacted with tributes to the late actor. Here’s what Zachary Quinto said this:
So sorry to hear of the passing of Ben Cross. he played Spock’s father Sarek in our first Trek movie (among many other indelible roles) and he was always so incredibly thoughtful and generous and engaging. It being my first film I always felt considered and cared for by him in our scenes together. He was a real gentleman and a true talent. Sending him and his family much love and light. Rest in peace dear Ben.
Zachary Quinto wrote these words alongside an Instagram post featuring a picture of Ben Cross as Sarek in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek. The Spock actor sounds like he had a distinctly positive experience with the actor on set. Star Trek was a massive role for Quinto that undoubtedly changed his life, and one key relationship in the film is Spock with his father, Sarek.
Ben Cross was embraced by the Star Trek community after years without the fan-favorite character played by Mark Lenard in the original ‘60s series, who also reprised his role in the subsequent films starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and the rest of the original Enterprise crew, as well as The Next Generation in 1991. TNG actress Marina Sirtis, who played Deanna Troi, took to Twitter to share her condolences too:
Another co-star of Ben Cross, Antony Starr, who worked with him on the Cinemax series Banshee, wrote this:
There he is in Chariots of Fire, which was nominated for four Oscars in 1982, including Best Picture. Bill & Ted actor Alex Winter also remembered the actor on social media here:
To close out the tributes, DC comic book writer and producer for Wanted, Kingsman and Kick-Ass, Mark Millar, shared this cute memory of Ben Cross:
In another tweet, Mark Millar also said he remembered telling Ben Cross about how Howard Chaykin’s The Shadow comic used him as a model for his run of the ‘80s series. They googled images of the issues together, and he was “genuinely tickled.” Cross certainly touched many more people in Hollywood than those who have honored him here.
Sadly, the Star Trek community has faced a number of heartbreaking deaths in the past few years, with the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy, passing away in 2015 at the age of 83, and the new franchise’s Chekov, Anton Yelchin, passing away in 2016 at the too-young age of 27.
Though the Star Trek film franchise has been dormant since 2016’s Star Trek Beyond, Paramount has a number of films in development, and the property is living and breathing with a bunch of exciting original Star Trek shows on CBS All Access. Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more updates on Star Trek.
