Julian R. Sands is a British actor, most well known for his roles in the cult film Warlock and the television series 24.

Sands was born in Otley, West Yorkshire. One of five siblings, he studied at Lord Wandsworth College in Hampshire where his brother Quentin Sands also studied and taught drama from 2002-2004. He then went on to the Forum Theatre Company and the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, where he met his first wife.

Sands began his film career appearing in supporting roles, including parts in the 1984 films Oxford Blues and The Killing Fields. He was cast as the romantic lead in the 1985 film A Room with a View, the success of which prompted Sands to move to Hollywood in 1987 and pursue an American film career.

He has since appeared in a variety of both low-tier and higher-budget films, including: the title role in the 1989 cult film Warlock, and parts in films such as Arachnophobia, Boxing Helena and Leaving Las Vegas. He has done voice-overs as Valmont in the Jackie Chan Adventures cartoon for Season 1 before being replaced by British actors Andrew Ableson and Greg Ellis for the other seasons.

He also appears in the ninth season of Stargate SG-1, playing an agent for the evil Ori, and in the 2006 season of the television series 24, as terrorist Vladimir Bierko. The film critic Mark Kermode is notorious for his dislike of Sands's acting abilities.

Sands has been married twice: to journalist Sarah Harvey (whom he divorced in 1987), and in 1990 to writer Evgenia Citkowitz, with whom he lives in Los Angeles. He has a son from his first marriage, Henry (born in 1985) who is currently studying history at Edinburgh University, and two young daughters from his second marriage.