Actor Anthony Guidera dies aged 65

Species and Armageddon actor Anthony Guidera has died at the age of 65.

The actor's wife Valarie Anderson told TMZ on Tuesday that The Godfather Part III actor suddenly collapsed on 11 May in the living room of their Southern California home and his heart stopped beating.

He was rushed to the hospital and placed on life support for three weeks. Honouring Guidera's prior wishes, doctors took him off life support so he could go home, where he passed away on Saturday. His cause of death remains a mystery.

"It is with heavy hearts that we announce the sudden passing of our beloved Anthony," Anderson wrote in a Facebook post over the weekend. "We are devastated and trying to breathe through the impossible, taking each moment as it comes. Please hold this eternal light in your hearts and our family in your prayers."

In his debut movie role, Guidera worked with legendary director Francis Ford Coppola on the third instalment in The Godfather trilogy, playing a bodyguard called Anthony.

He also played Robbie in the 1995 sci-fi Species, for which he received the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss with his co-star Natasha Henstridge.

In addition, Guidera appeared in movies including Armageddon, The Rock, and The Postman, as well as TV shows such as ER, Angel, Baywatch and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. His last screen credit is the 2005 movie L.A. Dicks.

Guidera is survived by his wife Valarie, to whom he was married for 20 years, and their son Nick.