Brad Renfro

A precociously talented child star who fell prey to Hollywood's all-too-common tragic trajectory, Brad Renfro wowed critics and fans with his debut opposite Susan Sarandon in the John Grisham adaptation The Client (1994). Tween-friendly turns in the AIDS-themed drama The Cure 1995) and opposite Jonathan Taylor Thomas in Tom and Huck (1995) augured teen idolhood, but the hard-edged Renfro resisted being packaged. Gravitating towards darker, unconventional material, Renfro revealed much of himself in a string of sensitive but emotionally damaged characters in projects like Sleepers (1996) as the younger version of Brad Pitt, Telling Lies in America (1997) with Kevin Bacon, Apt Pupil (1998) as a twisted teen homoerotically fascinated by a former Nazi, an abused youth driven to murder his best friend in Larry Clark's powerful Bully (2001), and a sweet-natured but aimless convenience store clerk in the cult favorite Ghost World (2001). Renfro went on to act in other films, including 2002's Deuces Wild with James Franco and Confessions of an American Girl with Jena Malone and 2005's horror film The Jacket. He also appeared in the 2006 Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Watch" and 10th and Wolf with James Marsden and Val Kilmer. He completed filming on the film The Informers before his death. He was originally cast as Will Rollins in Freddy vs. Jason (2003) but was replaced by Jason Ritter less than a week before filming began.

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. He also featured in the video for the N.E.R.D song "Provider", playing the part of a petty drug dealer. Renfro's personal demons and drug and alcohol addiction proved his undoing, and just as his child stardom was transitioning into an interesting and offbeat adult acting career, Renfro descended into never-ending legal troubles that destroyed his personal and professional lives. Tragically, the talented young actor died of a heroin overdose on Jan. 15, 2008, reminding more than a few of River Phoenix, and robbing himself and the world of ever realizing his amazing, unconventional potential. 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. Local officials said she died of natural causes. Renfro was omitted from the "In Memoriam" tribute montage at the 80th Academy Awards in the year following his death. Perceived by the press as a "snub", Renfro's 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. He was quoted as saying "I choose films for their artistic value. I don't need a mansion or a Jaguar. When I leave this Earth, I won't take any money with me. All I will leave behind will be my art." His favorite of his own movies was Bully (2001).