Yes kiru, he died in February. He was in Bejing where he's just finished shooting a movie and he fell off a building or something (the reports were rather vague on that, saying it was around a six story fall but not giving details on what happened). He was supposed to be starting a role with Bruce Willis in "Boot Camp" within days...his big Hollywood break. Very sad to see a life cut short like that. Ares was always a favorite of mine on Xena, he did such a good job of being both evil and funny at the same time. Such a shame. This is a great character VS. Is it still available somewhere?