French actor Gaspard Uliel, best known for playing Hannibal Lecter in “Hannibal Rising”, has died at the age of 37 following a skiing accident in southeastern France.
“Gaspard Ulil grew up with cinema and cinema grew up with him. They loved each other madly,” French Prime Minister Jean Casteux tweeted on Wednesday.
“It is with a heavy heart that we will revisit her most beautiful performances and capture her unique look. We have lost a French actor.”
According to a statement Wednesday from the Albertville Prosecutor’s Office, the accident occurred at 4 p.m. local time on Tuesday at the La Rosier ski resort in the Alpine Department of Savoie.
After leaving the top of Uliel’s blue ski run, he collided with another skier and both fell to the ground, the statement said. The other skier was not hurt.
When the emergency team arrived at the scene, Uliel was lying unconscious in the snow, according to the statement.
He was taken to the nearby Grenoble University Hospital center where his death was announced on Wednesday afternoon.
A judicial investigation is launched with investigators from the Alps Security Police.
Ulil received praise for his portrayal of French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent in the 2014 biopic, “Saint Laurent”. He won the César for Best Actor, France’s equivalent of an Oscar, for his performance in the Javier Dolan film, “It’s Only the End of the World”.
His next on-screen appearance is set to take place in the Marvel Disney+ series “Moon Night”, which is slated to release in March 2022.
Fellow French actor Jean Dujardin posted a photo of Uliel on Instagram with a caption that read “Gaspard” along with a black heart emoji.
And French Culture Minister Rosaline Bachelot called Ulil “an extraordinary actor” in a tweet published on Wednesday.
“Today the world of cinema has lost a great talent,” Bachelot wrote. “I send my condolences to his family and my loving thoughts to all who mourn for him today.”
