The 43-year-old actor who dies upon undergoing euthanasia

BarcelonaFrench actor and theater director Arnaud Denis died on Tuesday, September 22, at the age of 43, after undergoing euthanasia in Belgium. Denis had explained on social media that he made this decision after three years of pain and a severe deterioration of his health.

His ordeal began after an inguinal hernia operation in July 2023, during which a polypropylene prosthesis was implanted. A few days later, he began to suffer intense pain and various disorders, including digestive, muscular, and neurological problems. Denis attributed these problems to the prosthesis, and in 2024, he underwent surgery in the United States to remove it, at a cost of about 40,000 euros. The explantation, however, did not stop the deterioration of his condition.

Subsequently, he was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis, a disease that can cause severe disability. Denis ended up losing almost all of his autonomy and decided to request euthanasia in Belgium. Before dying, he had also denounced the manufacturer of the prosthesis, whom he considered responsible for his health problems. The Paris Prosecutor's Office archived the complaint at the end of August because it did not consider the causal relationship between the implant and his deterioration to be sufficiently established scientifically, although it did not question the damages he had suffered.

Born in Paris in 1983, Denis founded his own theater company at the age of 20, Les Compagnons de la Chimère, and developed much of his career on stage. He also participated in film and television productions such as Yves Saint Laurent, Vivre!, Monsieur Max and Napoléon. Shortly before he died, he published a message on social media in which he explained his decision and stated: "I have finished with medical mistreatment".