Actor Francis ‘Frankie’ Mossman has passed away at the age of 33, his brothers confirmed.
The star was best known for his roles in television shows Spartacus and The Horizon.
He passed away in Sydney, Australia, on August 14, of unknown causes.
The New Zealand actor’s brothers, Laurence and Jeremy Mossman, have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to have Francis’ body brought back to New Zealand for a funeral.
They penned a post asking for donations that read: ““With heavy hearts and much sadness, we learned of Francis’ passing last Saturday 14th August in Sydney, Australia.
“Francis was an energetic force and much-loved brother and son. He was a well-respected member of the acting community and found a supportive and endearing family community in Sydney.
“His smile and energetic presence will be sorely missed by those lucky enough to have known him.”
Speaking to the Daily Mail Australia, his family said in a statement that he “had been struggling with the resurfacing of old scars and trauma from high school, which he acknowledged in his last [Instagram] post to the world was a pain he had endured from a young age.”
His last post on the social media platform showed a photo of him as a young boy with the caption: “Who knew this boy would endure so much pain.”
His family continued to say he had the “most generous loving heart that lit up wherever he went” before he will always be “loved dearly and equally missed”.
Francis got his start on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street as the character Taylor.
He went on to star in The Amazing Extraordinary Friends in 2008, as well as the film The Richmond Family Massacre in 2009
His best known roles include Vitus on the Starz series Spartacus and on The Horizon as Stevie Hughes from 2013 to 2017.
Francis’ last credited role was in the 2020 short “Dis-Connect” as Luke.
He had recently been studying towards a postgraduate degree in counselling to “help others who were suffering mental ill-health”.
He is survived by his long-time partner Lachlan, his mother May, his father Reginald, and his brothers Jeremy and Laurence.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk