Brad Renfro, 25 year-old star of such films as The Client, Apt Pupil, and Bully, was found dead in his Los Angeles home early this morning, reports the Associated Press. Renfro's lawyer, Richard Kaplan, broke the tragic news. The cause of death is currently unknown, but Renfro had been drinking with friends the night before. Foul play is not suspected. Renfro led a troubled life, and there had been several run-ins with the law over the years, for drugs, DUI, and more. In May 2006, he served ten days in jail after he plead no contest to drunk driving and guilty to attempted possession of heroin. His most notable recent film appearance was opposite Adrien Brody in The Jacket, and he recently completed work on the Bret Easton Ellis adaptation The Informers.Renfro began acting when he was only twelve years old. At twelve, he played the title role in Joel Schumacher's adaptation of John Grisham's The Client, which starred Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones. He was a terrific young actor, and since he was roughly my age, I followed his career from his younger roles in The Cure and Tom and Huck, through more mature fare like Telling Lies in America and Sleepers. My favorite roles of his were later ones: Todd in Bryan Singer's Apt Pupil, Marty in Larry Clark's highly disturbing Bully, and Josh in Terry Zwigoff's modern classic Ghost World. Kaplan tells the AP, "He was working hard on his sobriety. He was doing well. He was a nice person." We at Cinematical mourn the loss of a real talent, and our sympathies are with his family and friends.













Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-15-2008 @ 10:44PM
youyan002 said...
good good
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1-15-2008 @ 11:24PM
Christopher M Guthrie said...
Do not grieve at the passing of mortality, for life's but a thing of terrible gravity. And the planets gravitate around you,and the stars shall dance about you,and the angels in heaven adore you, and the saints all stand and applaud you. So faraway, so faraway and yet so close.
Nick Cave,
"Far Away, So Close"
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1-15-2008 @ 11:42PM
Philpott said...
Well, that sucks. Good actor, bad drug addict (not there are are good ones of those either).
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1-16-2008 @ 4:50AM
Automagv said...
It sucks to hear about wasted potential. I've seen a few of his movies, the most memorable being Apt Pupil (the short story was better, but aren't the all?). He did have presence, some charisma, I imagine given time he could have been a great actor. It's too bad we'll never find out. RIP
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1-16-2008 @ 8:31AM
Ashleigh said...
I had the pleasure of meeting him recently through a friend who knew him well. Brad was a phenominal man, everyone has problems, and the media does not help these actors. Brad was one of the most genuine, kind, and giving people you could ever imagine. He was trying to get his life together, and get back on top. He was loved by many and will be missed by more... RIP Brad Renfro
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1-16-2008 @ 9:23AM
techstar25 said...
Just a correction... You say "Marty in the highly disturbing Bobby". You meant "Bully".
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1-16-2008 @ 12:12PM
Julie said...
I'm sorry to hear that this young man has died....this was not a good way to go either, alone....
I wish that he would have turned his life around before leaving this world, and found his Heavenly father, but none of us ever know if there will be enough time for that later, this is why we should always be prepared to leave this world as all times
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1-16-2008 @ 12:12PM
Scott said...
Just read this scanning over the Fox News web sight page. Recognized his name right away from the movie "Bully" and "Apt Pupil" Since one of my hobbies is watching movies, all types, kinds and genres, I will miss seeing him in more darker roles such as his role in "Bully" Brad Renfro had a strange way of playing vunerable type personalities that worked well in "Bully" and "Apt Pupil"
I could have seen Brad in more and more roles branching out to even more genre of film with larger name actors and larger screen presence.
Rest easy Brad. I'll miss you as a fan of film and a fan of up and coming solid actors.
Scott
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1-16-2008 @ 12:14PM
Clayton said...
The movie that was "higly disturbing" was Bully, not Bobby.
Thought I would let you know.
RIP Brad
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1-16-2008 @ 12:14PM
Ashleigh said...
I had the pleasure of meeting him recently through a friend who knew him well. Brad was a phenominal man, everyone has problems, and the media does not help. Brad was one of the most genuine, kind, and giving people you could ever imagine. He will be missed by many... RIP
Reply
1-16-2008 @ 12:45PM
Kenny said...
So sorry to hear about this. Brad was a great actor who, thankfully, had the guts and individuality to choose off the beaten path roles. I'll miss him. God Bless You Brad Renfro and rest in peace. Condolences to his family, friends and fans.
Kenny.
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1-16-2008 @ 1:32PM
Cath said...
He had been picked up on skid row in downtown LA recently, so this is not a complete surprise but it is tragic nonetheless. There are too few assets in our society today to deal appropriately with mental problems and then, again, there will always be those who fly too close to the sun and there's little anyone can do to pull them back.
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1-16-2008 @ 2:59PM
Steve said...
I wish there was someway we could be more aware of the defenses we can use to help us with the temptations of drugs and liquer. Especially when coupled with wealth and fame. My heart goes out to people like Brad. Addiction is progressive - it gets worse not better unless dealt with. What makes us think there is good in bad? In other words, why do we do something over and over again when we know what the outcome is? And....it ain't a good outcome and... we know it before we do it....again. My choice was to choose my career and my home and that was it. No more booze or drugs. You can't have it both ways. You have to do what WHATEVER IT TAKES TO BE FREE. Heaven, harmony, God, give us the strength to overcome and show us the power each of us have individually to demonstrate dominion over all evil (and that means anything that isn't good). Brad - bless you as you travel to your new destination.
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1-16-2008 @ 3:02PM
pam said...
The news of Brad devistated me. His grandmother married my ex father in law. They have since divorced. I have kept up with his life and may he rest in peace. To his mom, I am very sorry for the loss of your son.
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1-16-2008 @ 7:47PM
unknown said...
i am sorry to hear about the death of actor Brad Renfro.
i hope that he rests in peace.
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1-23-2008 @ 12:07PM
M said...
I'm devasted about his death. He was the most gifted actor of his generation.
Rest in Peace Brad
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