French actor Gaspard Ulliel, known for appearing in Chanel perfume ads as well as film and television roles, has died after being hospitalised following a ski accident in the Alps, according to the regional prosecutor’s office.
Ulliel portrayed the young Hannibal Lecter in 2007’s ‘Hannibal Rising’ and fashion mogul Yves Saint Laurent in the 2014 biopic ‘Saint Laurent.’ He was also in the upcoming Marvel series ‘Moon Knight,’ and was the advertising face of the Chanel men’s fragrance Bleu de Chanel.
An investigation is under way into Tuesday’s accident in the Rosiere ski area in the Savoie region, according to the Savoie prosecutor’s office.
Ulliel had been hospitalised on Wednesday, the prosecutor’s office said. Local broadcaster France Bleu said he was in serious condition with a skull injury.
Police and the prosecutor’s office would not divulge details of the accident. France Bleu said Ulliel apparently collided with another skier at a crossing point on the slopes, and the other skier was not hospitalised.
The mountain police service serving the site of the accident said it has been organising five or six rescues per day in recent days as the snow has hardened.
In the neighbouring Haute-Savoie region, five-year-old girl was killed Saturday when a skier crashed into her. The man was handed preliminary manslaughter charges, according to the Haute-Savoie prosecutor, who cited excessive speed as the likely reason for the accident.
