Brad Renfro

Brad Renfro
Renfro in the movie Sleepers (1996)
Born	Brad Barron Renfro (1982-07-25)July 25, 1982 Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	January 15, 2008(2008-01-15) (aged 25) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Acute heroin/morphine intoxication
Resting place	Red House Cemetery, Blaine, Tennessee
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1993–2008
Children	1

Brad Barron Renfro (July 25, 1982 – January 15, 2008) was an American actor. Renfro made his film debut at the age of 11 with a starring role in The Client (1994), and went on to appear in 21 feature films and won several awards.

Prior to being cast in The Client, Renfro had no acting background and was living with his grandmother in a trailer park. Director Joel Schumacher wanted to cast a "tough kid" who had the necessary life experience to understand the character he would portray. Renfro soon attracted a large fanbase as he continued to star in movies like Tom and Huck and Sleepers. Beginning in the late 1990s, Renfro had difficulties in his private life, including a series of arrests and stints in drug treatment. He died of acute heroin and morphine intoxication at the age of 25.

Early childhood[]

Renfro was born on July 25, 1982, in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of Angela Denise Olsen (née McCrory)^[1] and Mark Renfro, a factory worker.^[2][3][4] He was raised from the age of five by his paternal grandmother, Joanne Renfro, a church secretary,^[5] after his parents divorced. He reportedly did not have a close relationship with his father.^[6]

Acting career[]

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When he was 10 years of age, Renfro was discovered by Mali Finn, a casting director for Joel Schumacher. He had no prior acting experience or training at the time. Finn had contacted various agencies that worked with youth; she was looking to cast a "tough" kid and settled on Renfro after looking at five thousand such boys all over the United States. At the time, Renfro had been living in a trailer park outside Knoxville with his grandmother. "I wanted a kid who understood in the marrow of his psyche what it was like to grow up too soon," Schumacher later told The New York Times.^[6] Renfro was cast by Finn as the lead in Schumacher's The Client. His casting was announced in May 1993, and the movie was filmed in the summer of that year. Based on the bestselling John Grisham novel, The Client became one of the top-grossing films of 1994. In 1995, Renfro won The Hollywood Reporter's "Young Star" award, and was nominated as one of People magazine's "Top 30 Under 30."^{[citation needed]}

Renfro played Huckleberry Finn in 1995's Tom and Huck.^[7] He also won a second "Young Star" award, as well as a "Young Artist" award, for his performance in The Cure.^[8]

In 1996, Renfro appeared in Sleepers, which was based on the novel of the same name by Lorenzo Carcaterra. The film was directed by Barry Levinson and co-starred Brad Pitt, who played the older version of Renfro's character.

In 1998, he starred in Apt Pupil, directed by Bryan Singer. The several films he starred in that followed gained little attention, with the majority going straight to video.^[9] He played Leon S. Kennedy in a live-action ad for Resident Evil 2, which aired in Japan. Renfro went on to act in other films, including 2001's Ghost World and Bully, 2002's Confessions of an American Girl, and 2005's The Jacket. He also appeared in the 2006 Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Watch", and completed filming on the film The Informers.^{[citation needed]}

Renfro appeared in the first version of the music video for the 10 Years song "Wasteland";^{[citation needed]} his cousin, Jesse Hasek, is the band's lead singer.^[2] He also featured in the video for N.E.R.D song "Provider", playing the part of a petty drug dealer.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[]

Renfro had one child, a son born in 2003 in Japan, and raised there by his mother, a Japanese citizen.^[10] Prior to Renfro's death, the public had been unaware he had a son, and mention of him did not appear in his obituary, though his son was eventually named in the obituary of Renfro's mother, Angela, who died in 2012.^[11][12][13]

Substance abuse and criminal record[]

Renfro's abuse of alcohol and drugs began at an early age.

On June 3, 1998, Renfro, then 15, and his 19-year-old cousin were arrested and charged with drug possession. He was carrying two small bags of cocaine in a cigarette box and a bag of marijuana in his sock.^[14] He entered into a plea bargain in which he agreed to random drug tests.^[15]

By the age of 18, Renfro had already been in drug rehabilitation more than once.^[6]

On August 28, 2000, Renfro and a friend attempted to steal a yacht from the Fort Lauderdale harbor. Renfro was charged with grand theft and criminal mischief; in January 2001, he was sentenced to two years' probation and ordered to pay investigative costs and yacht repair costs.^[15] Renfro violated his probation in May 2001 when he was arrested for underage drinking.^[16] On January 14, 2002, Renfro violated his probation again and was arrested on charges of public intoxication and driving without a valid license in Knoxville.^[17] He was placed into a three-month substance abuse treatment program as a result.^[18]

On November 24, 2005, Renfro was charged with a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence and two counts of driving with a suspended license,^[19] leading to 10 days in jail and 18 months of alcohol education classes.^[20] He was arrested by LAPD officers on December 22, 2005, during an undercover drug sweep of Skid Row. Following that arrest, he was charged with attempted possession of heroin. A photograph showing him in handcuffs made the front page of the Los Angeles Times. Renfro admitted to a detective that he was using heroin and methadone. He pleaded guilty, was sentenced to three years' probation,^[21] and was fined $450.^[22] In May 2006, he spent 10 days in jail for driving while under the influence and attempted heroin possession.^[23]

In June 2007, Renfro was found to have violated his probation by failing to enroll in a long-term drug treatment program. A judge warned him that if he violated probation two more times, he could be sentenced to a live-in rehabilitation program or to jail.^[24]

Following Renfro's death in January 2008, Jesse Hasek stated that Renfro and his son had visited him several days earlier and that Renfro had made positive changes in his life. According to Hasek, "He had hit rock bottom and had come way back up."^[25]

Death[]

Renfro was found dead on January 15, 2008, in his Los Angeles apartment. He was 25 years old.^[24] His body was returned to Tennessee, where he was buried on January 22, 2008, at Red House Cemetery in the small community of Blaine, Tennessee. On February 8, 2008, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office ruled his death accidental, attributing it to acute heroin/morphine intoxication.^[26][27][28]

Seventeen days after Renfro's death, his grandmother Joanne—who had accompanied him regularly during his early acting career—died at her home at the age of 76.^[29] Local officials said she died of natural causes.^[30]

Legacy[]

Renfro's roommate, Mark Foster of Foster the People, wrote a song about his death called "Downtown".^[31]

In 2012, the art magazine The Thing Quarterly reported that actor James Franco had the name "Brad" tattooed on his right shoulder in memory of Renfro.^[32] Franco also produced a limited-edition series of switchblades bearing the words "Brad Renfro" and "Forever."^[33]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	The Client	Mark Sway
1995	The Cure	Erik
	Tom and Huck	Huckleberry Finn
1996	Sleepers	Young Michael Sullivan
1997	Telling Lies in America	Karchy "Chucky" Jonas
1998	Apt Pupil	Todd Bowden
1999	2 Little, 2 Late	Jimmy Walsh
2000	Herschel Hopper: New York Rabbit	Tanner
	Meter Man	Sal	Short film; also writer
	Skipped Parts	Dothan Talbot
2001	Bully	Marty Puccio	Also associate producer
	Ghost World	Josh
	Happy Campers	Wichita
	Tart	William Sellers
	The Theory of the Leisure Class	Billy
2002	American Girl	Jay Grubb
	Deuces Wild	Bobby
2003	Citizen Tony	Thoren (voice)	Television film
	The Job	Troy Riverside
2004	Mummy an' the Armadillo	Wyatte
2005	Hollywood Flies	Jamie
	The Jacket	The Stranger
2006	10th and Wolf	Vincent
2008	Collector	Justin	Short film; final film role
	The Informers	Jack

Television[]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Recess	(Voice)	Episode: "Germ Warfare"
2006	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Duane Winslow	Episode: "Watch"

Music videos[]

Year	Artist	Title
1998	The Rolling Stones	"Gimme Shelter"
2002	N.E.R.D	"Provider"
2005	10 Years	"Wasteland'"

Awards and nominations[]

Year	Award	Category	Work	Results	Ref.
1995	Chicago Film Critics Association	Most Promising Actor	The Cure	Nominated
1995	YoungStar Awards	Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Drama Film	The Cure	Won
1995	Young Artist Awards	Young Artist Award for Best Performance by a Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture	The Client	Won
1996	YoungStar Awards	Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy Film	Tom and Huck	Nominated
1996	Young Artist Awards	Young Artist Award for Best Young Leading Actor in a Feature Film (shared with Joseph Mazzello)	The Cure	Nominated
1997	YoungStar Awards	Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Drama Film	Sleepers	Nominated
1998	Tokyo International Film Festival	Best Actor Award	Apt Pupil	Won
1999	Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films	Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor	Apt Pupil	Nominated
2004	Sedona International Film Festival	Director's Choice Award for Most Spirited Rising Performer	—	Won
2004	Breckenridge Festival of Film	Best Ensemble Cast	Mummy an' the Armadillo	Won
2008	Action On Film International Film Festival	Best Actor	Collector	Won

See also[]

• List of people from Knoxville, Tennessee

References[]

External links[]

• Brad Renfro at IMDb 
• Obituary in The Times, January 18, 2008
• Brad Renfro: The End, January 27, 2008
• 911 call regarding Renfro's overdose and death
• Brad Renfro at Find a Grave