’70s Teen Idol Björn Andrésen Dead at 70

Björn Andrésen, the Swedish actor best known for his breakout role in 1971’s Death in Venice, has died. He was 70.

Andrésen died Saturday, Kristian Petri and Kristina Lindström, co-directors of the 2021 documentary about his life, The Most Beautiful Boy in the World, told the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter Sunday. No cause of death was revealed.

Petri remembered Andrésen as a “brave person” who “had an incredible charisma and presence in front of the camera.”

Andrésen had a tragic upbringing, going to live with his grandmother following the disappearance and suicide of his single mother when he was 10. At 15, the young aspiring musician auditioned for the role of Tadzio in Death in Venice at the encouragement of his grandmother.

Andrésen was just 16 when he starred in Luchino Visconti’s 1971 film, which follows a composer (Dirk Bogarde) dealing with his failing health as he becomes obsessed with a 14-year-old boy, Tadzio.

Andrésen’s lucky break didn’t feel so lucky, however, especially after Visconti declared him the “most beautiful boy in the world” while doing press for the movie.

“Life and career-wise, it f—ked up a lot of things,” Andrésen told Variety in 2021 when The Most Beautiful Boy in the World came out.

The documentary about Andrésen’s life featured footage of the teen’s audition for Visconti, in which he was photographed shirtless. “When they asked me to take off my shirt, I wasn’t comfortable,” Andrésen recalled to Variety. “I wasn’t prepared for that. I remember when he posed me with one foot against the wall, I would never stand like that. When I watch it now, I see how that son of a b—h sexualized me.”

Following the release of Death in Venice, Andrésen was encouraged by his grandmother to take on more promotional opportunities in Japan, where he was given a relentless schedule, medicated into compliance, and forced into a brief career as a pop star.

Andrésen’s musical career might have been brief, but he did continue to act throughout his life, most recently appearing in Midsommar as an elderly man who steps off a cliff as a human sacrifice.

Andrésen is survived by his daughter Robine, whom he shared with his ex-wife, poet Susanna Roman.