Actor Khan Bonfils, known to ‘Star Wars’ fans for playing Jedi master Saesee Tiin in ‘The Phantom Menace’ , has died suddenly during a play rehearsal. He was 43.
Khan (also known as Kan) collapsed on Monday while rehearsing with the Craft Theatre Company for a new production of Dante’s ‘Inferno’.
Despite the best efforts of his fellow cast members, and the play’s director, as well as paramedics, they were unable to save his life.
“Kan collapsed during a rehearsal and the director Rocky Rodriguez Jr, he performed CPR on location,” said Craft Theatre spokesman Chris Hislop.
“An ambulance was called out but unfortunately he couldn’t be resuscitated.
The company later released a statement saying, “With great sadness, we announce the death of Kan Bonfils. His sudden loss is a tragedy and he will be sorely missed.”
The cause of his death has not been confirmed, although Hislop described it as a ‘real tragedy’ adding that the members of the theatre company were ‘in shock’. He added that they hoped to still go ahead with the production - which was due to open at the East London venue The Rag Factory on Thursday - with another actor in Khan’s place.
Besides appearing in ‘The Phantom Menace’ , Khan featured in a string of blockbusters including ‘Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life’, ‘Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow’, ’Batman Begins’ and more recently , ‘Skyfall’.
He also appeared in several West End productions including ‘The King and I’ and ‘Miss Saigon’ .
