Khan Bonfils obit

'Star Wars' and 'Skyfall' Actor Khan Bonfils Dies

 He was not on the list.

Tragedy struck this week for an English actor who appeared in some of the biggest action films of the past twenty years. Khan Bonfils, who played horned Jedi master Saesee Tiin in Star Wars— Episode I: The Phantom Menace and an evil henchman in Skyfall, died suddenly while rehearsing the play Dante’s Inferno in London. “Khan collapsed during a rehearsal and the director Rocky Rodriguez Jr. performed CPR on location. An ambulance was called out but unfortunately he couldn’t be resuscitated,” Chris Hislop, the spokesman for Craft Theatre, told The Telegraph. The play was scheduled to open tomorrow. “The entire company are in shock,” Hislop said. “There is absolutely severe sadness. It is a real tragedy.”

Bonfils started out in musical theater and worked as a model before landing his big Hollywood break in the first Star Wars prequel. Tiin, a member of the Jedi High Council, died during a fight with Darth Sidious, also known as the future Emperor Palpatine. Though he was nearly unrecognizable in the character’s heavy make-up, which took four hours to apply, Bonfils went on to play small roles in notable films like Batman Begins, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, and the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall. Bonfils is being mourned by Star Wars fans and the London theater community, including Daniel York, an actor who worked with him on the play Romeo and Juliet. “Khan Bonfils was one of the fittest and healthiest actors I have ever worked with. I cannot believe how this has happened,” York wrote on Twitter.

Actor

Razors: The Return of Jack the Ripper (2016)

Razors: The Return of Jack the Ripper

2.3

JK

2016

 

Traveller (2013)

Traveller

5.3

Tolui

2013

 

Daniel Craig in Skyfall (2012)

Skyfall

7.8

Boat Crew (as Kan Bonfils)

2012

 

Tribe

6.1

Tolui

2011

 

Body Armour (2007)

Body Armour

4.0

Ozu

2007

 

Christian Bale in Batman Begins (2005)

Batman Begins

8.2

League of Shadows Warriors

2005

 

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

6.1

Creepy

2004

 

Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (2003)

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life

5.5

Reiss' Guard

2003

 

Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Anthony Daniels, Liam Neeson, Jake Lloyd, Kenny Baker, Ahmed Best, Keira Knightley, Ray Park, and Peter Serafinowicz in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

6.5

Saesee Tiin

1999

 

Michael Caine in Shadow Run (1998)

Shadow Run

4.3

Baz

1998

 

Pierce Brosnan, Teri Hatcher, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh, Judi Dench, Desmond Llewelyn, and Cecilie Thomsen in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Tomorrow Never Dies

6.5

Satoshi Isagura (uncredited)

1997