Brad Renfro

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

Prior to being cast in The Client, Renfro had no acting background and was living with his grandmother in a trailer park. Wanting to cast a "tough kid" who had the life experience to understand the character he would portray, director Joel Schumacher chose Renfro to play the role of Mark Sway. Renfro soon attracted a large fanbase, going on to star in The Cure, Tom and Huck, Sleepers, Apt Pupil, Bully and Ghost World.

Beginning in the late 1990s, Renfro experienced difficulties in his private life, including drug addiction and a series of arrests. He died at age 25 of acute heroin and morphine intoxication.

Early life Renfro was born on July 25, 1982, in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of Angela Denise Olsen (née McCrory) and Mark Renfro, a factory worker. After his parents divorced, he was raised from the age of five by his paternal grandmother, Joanne Renfro. Renfro did not have a close relationship with his father.

Career

At the age of 10, Renfro was discovered by Mali Finn, a casting director for Joel Schumacher. He was recommended to Finn by retired Knoxville police officer and local DARE program representative Dennis Bowman, who was captivated by Renfro's charm and street smarts. Renfro was cast by Finn in the lead role of Mark Sway in Joel Schumacher's film The Client because the author of the novel on which it was based, John Grisham, required that an established child actor not be cast and that an unknown from Tennessee be cast for the role. Renfro had no prior acting experience or training at the time. Finn had contacted various agencies that worked with youth; she wanted to cast a "tough" kid and settled on Renfro after looking at 5,000 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.

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

In 1996, Renfro appeared in Sleepers, which was based on the novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra. The film was directed by Barry Levinson and Renfro played the younger version of co-star Brad Pitt's character. The following year, Renfro starred in Telling Lies in America, directed by Guy Ferland.

In 1998, he starred in Apt Pupil, directed by Bryan Singer, for which he won the Best Actor award at Tokyo International Film Festival and was also nominated for a Saturn Award. The several films Renfro starred in that followed gained little attention, with the majority going straight to video. He played Leon S. Kennedy in a live-action ad for Resident Evil 2 directed by George A. Romero, which aired in Japan. He went on to act in other films, including 2001's Ghost World, Bully, Happy Campers, Tart; 2002's 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.

Renfro appeared in the first version of the music video for the 10 Years song "Wasteland"; his cousin, Jesse Hasek, is the band's lead singer.

Personal life Renfro had a son who was born in Japan in 2003 and was raised there by his mother, a Japanese citizen.

Substance abuse and criminal record

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

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

Renfro violated his probation in May 2001 when he was arrested for underage drinking. On January 14, 2002, he violated his probation again and was arrested on charges of public intoxication and driving without a valid license in Knoxville. He was placed into a three-month substance abuse treatment program as a result.

On November 24, 2005, Renfro was arrested in Los Angeles and charged with a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence and two counts of driving with a suspended license, leading to 10 days in jail and 18 months of alcohol education classes. 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, and was fined $450. In May 2006, he spent 10 days in jail for driving while under the influence and attempted heroin possession.

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 twice more he could be sentenced to a live-in rehabilitation program or to jail.

Death Renfro was found dead at age 25 on January 15, 2008, in his Los Angeles apartment. His body was returned to Tennessee with services held at Stevens Mortuary in North Knoxville on January 21, 2008. Renfro was buried on the same day at Red House Cemetery in Grainger County, Tennessee, near the city of Blaine. On February 8, 2008, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office ruled his death accidental, attributing it to acute heroin/morphine intoxication.

On February 1, 2008, 17 days after Renfro's death, his grandmother Joanne Renfro—who had 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. Perceived by the press as a "snub", his omission from the Oscars received widespread media coverage.

Renfro's roommate, Mark Foster of Foster the People, wrote a song about his death called "Downtown". The song was included on a deluxe edition of the band's 2011 debut album Torches.

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. Franco also produced a limited-edition series of switchblades bearing the words "Brad Renfro" and "Forever."

In 2018, 10 years after Renfro's death, and again the following year, the website BuzzFeed devoted a long article to recounting his rise and descent. The article discussed whether the film industry adequately protects the welfare of at-risk child actors. BuzzFeed found no evidence that laws or contractual provisions had been violated on Renfro's films, but suggested that the industry had failed the actor by not ensuring that he was appropriately supervised when he was off the movie set. Meter Man Sal

Herschel Hopper: New York Rabbit Tanner Skipped Parts Dothan Talbot

Bully Marty Puccio Also associate producer Ghost World Josh Happy Campers Wichita Tart William Sellers data-sort-value="Theory of the Leisure Class, The" | The Theory of the Leisure Class Billy

American Girl Jay Grubb Deuces Wild Bobby

Citizen Tony Thoren (voice) Television film data-sort-value="Job, The" | The Job Troy Riverside 2004 Mummy an' the Armadillo Wyatte Also known as The Scare Hole

Hollywood Flies Jamie data-sort-value="Jacket, The" | The Jacket The Stranger 2006 data-sort-value="Tenth and Wolf" | 10th and Wolf Vincent

data-sort-value="Collector" | Collector Justin data-sort-value="Informers, The" | The Informers Jack Posthumous release; final role; dedicated in memory 2010 Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy Himself Archive footage 2025 George A. Romero's Resident Evil Himself Archive footage Television Year Title Role Notes 2000 Recess (Voice) Episode: "Germ Warfare"2000Teacher's PetMiles (voice)Episode: “Movin' on Pup/Escaping Dog Trick” 2006 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Duane Winslow Episode: "Watch"

Music videos

Awards and nominations Apt Pupil 2001 New York International Independent Film FestivalBest Actor The Theory of the Leisure Class 2004 Sedona International Film Festival Director's Choice Award for Most Spirited Rising Performer — 2004 Breckenridge Festival of Film Best Ensemble Cast Mummy an' the Armadillo 2008 Action On Film International Film Festival Best Actor – Short Collector