Dark story behind man who was dubbed the 'most beautiful boy in the world' aged 15
When Swedish teenager Björn Andrésen was cast as Tadzio in Death in Venice at just 15, he was hailed as ‘the most beautiful boy in the world’.
Although the label brought him worldwide fame, Andrésen later said it had a seriously negative effect on his life.
Italian director Luchino Visconti spent months searching Europe for the role before discovering the boy in Stockholm in 1970.
The aspiring musician had little interest in acting, but was chosen to play the object of desire opposite Dirk Bogarde in the acclaimed 1971 film.
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His looks made him an international sensation, just like the ‘most beautiful girl in the world’.
Andrésen, however, claimed he had been sexualised and exploited from a very young age.
Visconti ‘didn’t give a f**k’ about him, the late actor revealed to The Guardian in 2021.
“I’ve never seen so many fascists and a**holes as there are in film and theatre,” he said.
“Luchino was the sort of cultural predator who would sacrifice anything or anyone for the work.”
He went on to say that Death in Venice ‘screwed up my life quite decently’.
Despite his transition into becoming an accomplished pianist, the interest in his music wasn’t quite there.
“Everything I ever do will be associated with that film. I mean, we’re still sitting here talking about it 50 years later,” he adds.
“I don’t think it’s ethically defensible to let a 16-year-old bear the burden of advertising the damn film.
“Especially not when you come back to school and you hear, ‘Hi there, angel lips’.
“A guy who’s in the middle of his own teenage hormone tempest doesn’t want to be called ‘beautiful’.
“When you snap your fingers and you’ve got 10 chicks running after you, there’s no need to learn any social skills for dealing with the opposite sex.”
Born in Stockholm in 1955, Andrésen never knew his father, while his mother died by suicide when he was just 10.
Raised by his grandparents, he was repeatedly pushed into auditions by his grandmother despite dreaming of becoming a musician rather than an actor.
After marrying poet Suzanna Roman, the couple suffered the devastating loss of their infant son, Elvin, in 1987.
Andrésen blamed himself for the tragedy, spiralling into years of depression and alcoholism.
He disappeared from public life before his return to acting in the 2019 horror Midsommar.
Andrésen passed away from cancer in October 2025 at the age of 70.
Topics: Celebrity
Anish Vij