'Most Beautiful Boy' Björn Andrésen Dies at 70 After Lifelong Struggles

Björn Andrésen, the Swedish actor and musician who rose to fame as a teenager in the 1971 film "Death in Venice," has passed away at the age of 70. Andrésen's death was confirmed on October 25, 2025 by Kristian Petri, the co-director of the 2021 documentary "The Most Beautiful Boy in the World."

Andrésen's breakout role came when he was just 15 years old, playing the character of Tadzio in Luchino Visconti's adaptation of the Thomas Mann novella. At the film's premiere, Visconti famously referred to Andrésen as "the most beautiful boy in the world," a label that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Andrésen spoke openly about the negative experiences he had with Visconti and the challenges of dealing with his sudden worldwide fame. He recounted being taken to a gay nightclub by the director when he was only 16, an experience that left him feeling "very uncomfortable." Andrésen, who was straight, said the way he was treated by the older men at the club was like being viewed as "a nice meaty dish."

After the film's release, Visconti never spoke to Andrésen again, and the actor lamented how the "most beautiful" label affected him both personally and professionally. "I felt like an exotic animal in a cage," he told The Guardian in 2003.

Tragically, Andrésen's life was also marked by immense personal loss. His father died in an accident when he was young, and his mother died by suicide when he was just 10 years old. He later had two children with his ex-wife, but his infant son Elvin died of sudden infant death syndrome at just 9 months old, an event that sent Andrésen into a deep depression and alcohol abuse.

Despite the challenges he faced, Andrésen went on to appear in over 30 films and TV series, including a small role in the 2019 folk horror movie "Midsommar." He was also an accomplished pianist and musician, and even became a pop star in Japan after the release of "Death in Venice."

Petri, Andrésen's friend and the co-director of the documentary about his life, described him as a "brave person" who had endured much hardship. The film, which won the World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2021, aimed to tell Andrésen's story in his own words.