Khan Bonfils
Kan (Khan) Bonfils (October 7, 1967– January 5, 2015) was a Korean-Danish actor.
Early life
He was born in Korea and adopted when he was 5 years old by Knud Erik Bonfils. He was raised in Denmark.
He relocated to London to fulfil his dream. He trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. He was a trained martial artist and studied Wing Chun Kung Fu from Austin Goh. He was also a practitioner of Yin Style Ba Gua Zhang in London since 2008.
Career
Bonfils had a brief modelling career before starting acting. He was a model for Michiko Kochino, Hermes, Oswald Boateng, among others.
Bonfils' film credits include Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) as Jedi Master Saesee Tiin,[1][2] Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), Body Armour (2007) and Traveller (2013).
His other film credits include ''Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003), Batman Begins (2005),[2] and the James Bond films Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) as Isagura[2] and Skyfall (2012).[1]
Bonfils performed onstage as well. He acted in the West End:[1] Miss Saigon at Drury Lane, Theatre Royal London and The King & I at London Palladium where he performed the lead with Elaine Paige.
Personal life and demise
On 5 January 2015, Bonfils was rehearsing an upcoming stage production of Dante's Inferno when he collapsed.[1] Although CPR was attempted,[2] he could not be resuscitated; he was pronounced dead by paramedics.[3] He was 42 years old.[2]
Filmography
His film credits include:
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) - Satoshi Isagura (uncredited)
- Shadow Run (1998) - Baz
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) - Saesee Tiin
- Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) - Reiss' Guard
- Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) - Creepy
- Batman Begins (2005) - League of Shadows Warrior #3
- Body Armour (2007) - Ozu
- Tribe (2011) - Tolui
- Skyfall (2012) - Silva's henchman
- Traveller (2013) - Tolui
- Razors: The Return of Jack the Ripper (2016) - JK
References
- ^ a b c d McCoy, Terrence (7 January 2015). "'Star Wars' actor Khan Bonfils dies during rehearsal". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Noonan, Kevin (7 January 2015). "Khan Bonfils, James Bond and 'Star Wars' Actor, Dies at 42". Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ Blundy, Rachel (6 January 2015). "Former Star Wars actor collapses and dies during rehearsal for Dante's Inferno in London". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
External links
- Khan Bonfils at IMDb