Bjorn Andersen: the bitter fate of a boy with an angelic appearance (9 photos)

He was called "the most beautiful boy of the 20th century", he could become one of the greatest actors of the last century. The first role gave him great fame, but also took away a lot ...





Bjorn Johan Andersen was born in 1955 in Stockholm. Mother the future actor was a mistress with a very influential and wealthy man and child was clearly out of place. The child's father could not persuade a woman to have an abortion and Bjorn was born. When he was six years, then his mother was deprived of parental rights, and after another three years no one knew where she was and where she had gone.



Björn's upbringing was taken over by his grandmother, who life worked in the field of cinema and wanted her beloved grandson to become an actor. The boy, however, was more drawn to music and wanted to become the greatest pianist: perfect hearing gave him the opportunity to enter the elite Music School in Stockholm, which Bjorn graduated with honors.



Grandmother still persuaded her grandson to try himself in the cinema and when, in the 1970s, Luchino Visconti wanted to film Mannovskaya "Death in Venice", then his team traveled and went around several countries and several hundred schools and all sorts of teenage sections. For the role aristocrat Tadzio Visconti personally watched more than one and a half thousand candidates, but among them there was no one with a "divine spark", about which Thomas Mann wrote. Until Andersen came to audition. His manners, appearance and natural elegance and grace so liked director that he immediately got the lead role.

Visconti was a very strict and controlling director, who wanted to achieve perfection in everything. The boy was forbidden to sunbathe, because there are no tanned aristocrats. no games and running around with the boys so as not to get abrasions and bruises. None relationships, flirting and hints with partners on the set. Everyone actors, except for Bjorn, had to re-read "Death in Venice" several times - and he was strictly forbidden to do this, so as not to spoil "the purity of Tadzio's image".



In 1971, on March 1, the premiere took place in Cannes. The film became sensation, he received a huge number of awards, among which was Anniversary Award at Cannes, BAFTA (several awards), "Hit of the Year" in Japan, Oscar nomination.

Bjorn instantly became a superstar with an unofficial title "the most beautiful boy of the 20th century. As often happens, popularity, and even so sudden and large, it turned out to be a shy boy by strength. Visconti added fuel to the fire, trying to introduce Bjorn to gay culture, dragging him along to gay bars, which demoralized the young man and had a negative effect on his psyche.



The grandmother insisted that the grandson, while he is so popular, went to Japan to develop his acting career there. On Andersen was put on a Tadzio sailor suit there, constantly filmed for fashionable magazines, called for interviews and TV shows and few people were interested in him themselves ... They were only interested in Tadzio, with whom Bjorn became identify.



In the Land of the Rising Sun, Bjorn recorded two musical track that became quite popular, but then the young man admitted to reporters that the pop industry is of little interest to him. Actually In fact, the screen star wanted to go to Stockholm and enter there in conservatory, and then teach music. Bjorn's grandmother was very upset, because she sincerely wanted to see her grandson on the screen. Their relationship deteriorated and Bjorn even moved out of her to a separate apartment, and to feed himself had to take on minor roles in the movie and in the theatre. Björn deliberately turned down big projects because came to his senses after filming with Visconti.



Only after some time Andersen starred in the "Idiot killer" and at the premiere of the film he met his future wife - Suzanne. The couple soon got married, and in 1984 they had a daughter Robin, and two years later, son Alvin. It came to the Andersen family real grief: Alvin died at 10 months from sudden onset child death. It was a blow to everyone. Bjorn suffered a terrible nervous breakdown and he had to turn to a psychotherapist for help. At the sessions it became clearbut that the first psychological trauma for the actor was precisely "Death in Venice"



The sudden death of his son became strong and last for Bjorn blow. He dealt with the pain through tutoring, music, and rare filming a movie, but in 1994 the nervous breakdown repeated, aggravated alcohol. Bjorn went through a long rehabilitation and made a decision leave the acting path forever. He still teaches piano sometimes flashes on the theater stage and masters accounting. But the role of Tadzio continues to haunt him, and Bjorn has repeatedly said that if if he knew what it would result in for him, then for any money he would not act in film.



Bjorn Johan Andersen lives with his wife in Stockholm, works at a music school and no, no, and will act in some minor episode.

His life is a prime example of how important it is in the film industry and in the entire acting profession as a whole, an ethical and careful attitude towards young gifts that come into it and have no idea what they can collide.