Actor Dies After Hanging Himself in 'Passion of the Christ' Scene

An actor has died following a tragic onstage accident. 27-year-old actor Tiago Klimeck was enacting the suicide of Judas during a performance of "The Passion of the Christ" when he hanged himself on stage, The Telegraph reported. He had been in a coma for 17 days since the incident, which occurred earlier this month on Good Friday at a performance of the Easter play in Itarare, Brazil.

Kilmeck was taken off life support on Sunday, April 23. The Santa Casa de Itapeva hospital in Sao Paulo has confirmed the death, and an autopsy will take place on Monday, April 24.

The actor was unconscious before the audience or his cast mates realized that something was wrong, having believed that he was merely playing his role. They took him down after he had been hanging for four minutes. According to The Telegraph, Kilmeck suffered "cerebral anoxia due to the complete lack of oxygen to the brain."

It is unclear if any charges will be filed once police examine the security apparatus that was meant to support Klimeck during the scene.