Actor Fabio Sartor has died at the age of 70. Italian daily newspaper Il Messaggero reported the news.
Sartor was known for roles including 2004's The Passion of the Christ and The Fallen.
His former partner, Gladiator star and actress Connie Nielsen, 59, shared a touching tribute to the late actor, who she shared son Sebastian Sartor, 34, with.
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In her post, Nielsen said he "passed too soon" and admitted "it is so hard to let go".
"Our beloved Fabio Sartor, father of my son Sebastian and to Sofia, has passed too soon," she wrote.
"A true artist and intellectual, a lover of the odd, the imperfectly genius, he was educated at the Accademia of Venice and spent his life in love with classical theatre, often expressing his Venetian and Veneto historic culture, and lending his voice and talent to rarely seen texts and poetry."
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"His sketches and drawings revealed a true talent and his ideas were unique and poetic.
"We will remember him always, like he was in life – a bear of a man, a man of strength and thought.
Hinting he had an illness leading up to his death, she added: "His wife Anna cared for him with so much love during these last hard months, and he felt the love from his whole family around him. It is so hard to let go 💔💔💔."
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The late actor was born in Northern Italy, in Castelfranco Veneto.
His last acting credit was in the TV series Black Out- Vite Sospese.
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