Hollywood actor Anthony Guidera, who appeared in the movies The Godfather Part III, Species and Armageddon, died in Southern California, aged 65.
According to reports, Guidera collapsed at home on May 11 at the door of his wife, Valarie Anderson. She later said his heart suddenly stopped beating, and an emergency team was rushed to him. Doctors could not definitively find the cause of the cardiac arrest.
Guidera remained on life support for about three weeks. In accordance with his wishes, his family decided to remove life support and bring him home, where he died peacefully with his family.
In a statement after his death, Valerie Anderson told the family how he died, and asked friends and fans to keep them in their thoughts and prayers. She said it was devastating, and the family was trying to cope with the tragedy on a day-to-day basis.
Guidera started acting in 1990 as a bodyguard in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather: Part III. His role was small, but it was the start of a career in which he would appear in several Hollywood productions in the 1990s and early 2000s.
One of his best-known performances came in the science-fiction thriller Species, where he played Robbie. His on-screen chemistry with co-star Natasha Henstridge earned the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss in 1996, making it one of the most memorable moments of his career.
As a film actor, Guidera also appeared in several television series such as Baywatch, Angel, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, ER and many more. He was a character actor who was so versatile that he could have roles on the side and still stay with people who had nothing to do with the character.
Guidera also appeared in films like The Rock, The Postman and The Annihilation of Fish. His last screen appearances came in the early 2000s before he left the spotlight.
Guidera is survived by his wife of two decades, Valarie Anderson, and their son, Nick. Friends of the actor and his colleagues have since paid tribute to him for his warmth and professionalism, and memorable performances in film and television.
Hollywood loses a familiar face whose work ranged from the most iconic films and television productions of the 1990s. He might not have always been the king of Hollywood, but Anthony Guidera made sure people all over the world would know his name.
