American actor Brad Renfro dies at age 25
Brad Renfro, an American film actor has died at age 25. Renfro, who had a history of substance events during his short life of 25 years, was found dead yesterday morning in his Los Angeles home by paramedics who had been summoned to the scene. The cause of death has not yet been determined, but officials said an autopsy could be conducted as early as today.
BACKGROUND
Brad Barron Renfro (July 25, 1982 – January 15, 2008) was an American actor. A native of the state of Tennessee, he made his movie debut in 1994 in The Client at the age of 11 years old. He acted in 24 movies and several television episodes during his career. In 2006, he spent 10 days in jail for conviction of driving while under the influence and attempted heroin possession.
Career
Brad Renfro was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of Angela and Mark Renfro, who works in a blueprint factory. He was raised by his grandmother, Joanne Renfro, a church secretary.
Renfro was ten when he was discovered by Mali Finn, a casting director for Joel Schumacher. Cast by Finn for Schumacher’s The Client, Renfro acted alongside Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones. The movie was based on the bestselling John Grisham novel and became one of the top-grossing films of 1994.
In 1995, he won Hollywood Reporter’s “Young Star” award, and was nominated as one of People magazine’s “Top 30 Under 30.”
In 1996 he was cast as the young Michael Sullivan for the movie Sleepers based on the novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra. The book Sleepers reportedly tells the story of Carcaterra’s own childhood in Hell’s Kitchen (NYC) and the highly traumatic time he spent in a juvenile detention centre. Michael Sullivan as a grown up was portrayed by Brad Pitt. The film Sleepers was directed by Barry Levinson and also starred Robert de Niro, Kevin Bacon, Dustin Hoffman and Jason Patric.
Renfro went on to act in other films, including 2001’s Ghost World and Bully and 2005’s The Jacket with Keira Knightley and Adrien Brody. He also played Huck Finn in 1995’s Tom and Huck with Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
Renfro also appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
Recently, he completed filming his role in the upcoming movie The Informers.
Death
Renfro was found dead on January 15, 2008 in his Los Angeles apartment, after he had reportedly spent the previous night drinking with friends. The cause of death has yet to be determined.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The Client | Mark Sway |
| 1995 | Tom and Huck | Huck Finn |
| The Cure | Erik | |
| 1996 | Sleepers | Young Michael Sullivan |
| 1997 | Telling Lies in America | Karchy Jonas |
| 1998 | Apt Pupil | Todd Bowden |
| 2001 | Bully | Marty Puccio |
| Tart | William Sellers | |
| Ghost World | Josh | |
| 2002 | American Girl | Jay Grubb |
| Deuces Wild | Bobby | |
| 2005 | The Jacket | The Stranger |
| 2006 | 10th and Wolf | Vincent |
| 2008 | The Informers | Jack |
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GNU Free Documentation License.
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