The director worked with his friend Julian Sands on eight films – and one fitness regime. Here he remembers an actor unlike any other: impish, charismatic and unafraid to shock
I adored Julian. I’ve never met anyone like him. Our first encounter was in 1987, when I was casting my first film, Stormy Monday. We had a coffee in the Hyatt hotel on Sunset Boulevard and he basically thrust himself forward and said: “I’ve got to play this part! This is me.”
He was so pushy but I found his boldness very endearing. He was wrong for the role; I ended up casting Sean Bean. But I was very tickled by his enthusiasm and we became friends.
