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Brad Barron Renfro (July 25, 1982 – January 15, 2008) was an American actor. He made his film debut at the age of eleven in the lead role of Joel Schumacher's The Client, going on to star in 21 feature films, several short films, and two television episodes. However his career rapidly faded due to a pattern of alcoholism and substance abuse. He died from a heroin overdose on January 15, 2008.

Early life and career

Renfro was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was the son of Angela and Mark Renfro, who was a factory worker. He was raised from the age of five by his paternal grandmother, Joanne Barron Renfro, a church secretary.

When he was ten, Renfro was discovered by Mali Finn, a casting director for Joel Schumacher. Cast by Finn as the lead in Schumacher's The Client, Renfro starred alongside Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones. 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, it 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's "Top 30 Under 30." That year, he played Huckleberry "Huck" Finn in 1995's Tom and Huck with Jonathan Taylor Thomas. He also won a second "Young Star" award, as well as the "Young Artist" award, for his performance in The Cure.

In 1995, Renfro was cast in Sleepers, based on the novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra. The film was directed by Barry Levinson and co-starred Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, Dustin Hoffman and Brad Pitt.

In 1997, he starred opposite Ian McKellen in Apt Pupil, directed by Bryan Singer. The several films that followed gained little attention, the majority going straight to video. He played Leon S. Kennedy in a live-action preview of Resident Evil 2. 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 an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and completed filming on the film The Informers, co-starring Mickey Rourke, Winona Ryder and Billy Bob Thornton.

Renfro was the cousin of Jesse Hasek, lead singer of the band 10 Years, and featured in the first version of the music video for their song "Wasteland".

Renfro fathered one child, a son named Y Renfro, who was born in 2003. He was raised solely in Japan by his mother.

Renfro recorded an album under the name Frodad Band which performed all over L.A. and made appearances at Sundance Film Festival.

Substance abuse and criminal record

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. He avoided trial by agreeing to be screened randomly for drugs and evaluated for any substance abuse problems in his plea bargain.

On August 28, 2000, Renfro and his friend Harold Bond tried to steal a 45-foot yacht from Fort Lauderdale harbor. They were arrested on the same night and Renfro was charged with grand theft and criminal mischief. In January 2001, Renfro was sentenced to probation of two years and ordered to pay repair costs of the vessel to its owner and investigative costs to Lauderdale Police Department. He was arrested in May 2001 and charged with underage drinking.

On January 14, 2002, Renfro violated his probation and was arrested on charges of public intoxication and driving without a valid license in Knoxville. He was put into a three-month substance abuse treatment program as a result.

On December 23, 2005, Renfro was arrested by LAPD officers during an undercover drug sweep of Skid Row and was charged with attempted possession of heroin. A photograph showing the actor in handcuffs made the front page of the Los Angeles Times. Renfro admitted to a detective that he was using heroin and methadone. In court, he pleaded guilty to the charges, and was sentenced to three years' probation. In 2006, he spent 10 days in jail for convictions of driving while under the influence and attempted heroin possession.

In June 2007, Renfro was found to have violated his probation by not enrolling 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 rehab program or to jail time.

Death

Renfro was found dead on January 15, 2008 in his Los Angeles apartment. He was 25 years old. On February 8, 2008, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office ruled that Renfro's death was accidental, attributing it to acute heroin/morphine intoxication. His body was returned to East Tennessee, where he was buried on January 22, 2008 north of Knoxville, at Red House Cemetery in the small community of Blaine. He was not included in the annual Academy Awards tribute to Hollywood figures who died in the past year. Two days before his death Renfro had "Fuck All Ya'll" tattooed on his back.

Seventeen days after Renfro's death, his grandmother Joanne – who had raised him and accompanied him regularly during his early acting career – died at her home at the age of 76. Local officials stated that she died of natural causes.

Mark Foster of Foster the People was roommates with Renfro and wrote a song about his death called "Downtown."

Filmography

Honors

References

1. ^ Brad Renfro Biography. Yahoo! Movies.
2. Brad Renfro Film Reference.com.
3. Weinraub, Bernard (1994-07-12). "For 'Client,' a Survivor, Age 10". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
4. "Young star Brad Renfro dies at 25". Herald Sun. 2008-01-16. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
5. Carroll, Larry (2008-01-16). "Brad Renfro Dead At 25 - MTV Movie News". MTV. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
6. Bergan, Ronald (January 17, 2008). "Obituary: Brad Renfro". The Guardian. London.
7. "Obituaries - Brad Barron Renfro," Knoxville News Sentinel, January 20, 2008, webpage: Obit-BBRenfro.
8. "Brad Renfro spent several days with secret son before he died". Now magazine. January 24, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
9. "Renfro faces charges" (Fee required). Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 6, 1998. Retrieved December 2, 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
10. ^ "Actor must pay for yacht damages". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. January 6, 2001. Retrieved December 2, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
11. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/10587819/ns/today-entertainment/t/brad-renfro-arrested-drug-sting/
12. "Actor Renfro back in jail; allegedly broke probation" (Fee required). The Miami Herald. February 6, 2002. Retrieved December 2, 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
13. "Actor Renfro told get clean and sober, or else" (Fee required). The Post and Courier. February 9, 2002. Retrieved December 2, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
14. Winton, Richard. Renfro autopsy planned for Thursday. LA Times. January 17, 2008.
15. Actor Brad Renfro found dead in Los Angeles home CNN.com. January 15, 2008.
16. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20171939,00.html
17. Breuer, Howard (2008-02-08). "Brad Renfro Dies at 25". Retrieved 2008-02-08. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
18. Silverman, Stephen M. (2008-02-08). "Coroner: Brad Renfro Died of Heroin Overdose". Retrieved 2008-02-08. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
20. "Brad Renfro excluded from Oscar memorial". Los Angeles: msnbc. Associated Press. Feb. 25, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
21. http://icydk.com/2008/01/18/brad-renfro-got-a-tattoo-2-days-before-dying/
22. Brad Renfro's grandmother, 76, dies : Local News : Knoxville News Sentinel
23. WBIR.com | Knoxville, TN | Brad Renfro's grandmother dies

External links

• Brad Renfro at IMDb
• Obituary in The Times, January 18, 2008
• Brad Renfro: The End, January 27, 2008
• 9-1-1 call regarding Renfro's overdose and death
• Remembering Brad Renfro
• Renfro’s Death Pains Director Who Helped Make Him A Star, January 27, 2008
• Brad Renfro at Find a Grave

Template:Persondata

• 1982 births
• 2008 deaths
• Accidental deaths in California
• Actors from Los Angeles, California
• Actors from Tennessee
• American child actors
• American film actors
• American television actors
• Burials in Tennessee
• Deaths by heroin overdose in California
• People convicted of drug offenses
• People convicted of theft
• People from Knoxville, Tennessee
• People self-identifying as substance abusers
• Young Artist Award winners