Brad Renfro is an American actor and musician who has managed to appear in more than twenty feature films and several short films during his short career. Renfro's fame brought the role of Mark Sway in the thriller "Client", as well as the role of Todd Bowden in the thriller "Capable of Apprentice", filmed on the novel by Stephen King.
Biography
Brad Renfro was born in 1982 in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was the only child of Angela Dennis Olson and Mark Renfro. Grandmother - Joan Barron, church secretary - actually raised Brad from the age of five.
The beginning of an acting career
In 1993, the boy was spotted by Malie Finn, a well-known casting director who was just looking for a young actor to play the lead role in the legal thriller “Client” Joel Schumacher. The talent of Brad impressed the director, and he was officially approved for the role of Mark Sway. Filming took place in the summer of 1993. Filmed based on the best-selling book by John Grisham, “Client” was a huge success at the box office, and gained recognition from critics and ordinary moviegoers.
In 1995, Brad Renfro played in the low-budget drama The Medicine. The film tells how, as a result of the negligence of doctors, 11-year-old Dexter became infected with AIDS in a hospital. Now classmates are mocking the guy. Everything goes so far that Dexter can't even go to school. His only friend is 13-year-old Eric (Brad Renfro). The guys are together looking for a cure that could help Dexter.
In the same year, Renfro played Huck in the film “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” directed by Peter Hewitt. Brad's partners in the frame were Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Amy Wright. The film received mixed reviews from critics.
Brad Renfro appeared in the crime drama Sleepers by Barry Levinson, playing Michael Sullivan in his teens. The film had a strong cast: starring Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon and Brad Pitt. The painting "Sleeping" has collected more than $ 160 million at the box office and even received an Oscar nomination.
"Smart student"
In 1996, work began on the thriller Apt Pupil, based on the eponymous novel by Stephen King. Director Brian Singer went through about two hundred young actors for the role of Todd Bowden and chose 14-year-old Brad Renfro. As Singer later said, Renfro was the brightest of all candidates.
The character of Brad - 16-year-old schoolboy Todd Bowden - loves history, especially during the Second World War. After a thorough investigation, Todd finds out that the lonely old man living on the outskirts of the city is actually a fascist criminal Kurt Dussander (Ian McKellen). Todd is blackmailing Dussander by telling everyone the truth about his past. For his silence, the teenager demands from the former Nazi colorful stories about torture in the death camps.
Brad Renfro entered the role so much that, according to the recollections of the actor himself, during the filming, he changed, became closed and gloomy, and his family feared for his mental health.
Despite the controversial reviews of critics, "Apt Pupil" has acquired the status of a cult thriller and is considered to be one of the best paintings in Renfro filmography.
After the release of the film “Apt Pupil”, in which Brad Renfro played, films with his participation became very popular. The accumulated success was the reason for Brad's addiction to alcohol and drugs.
Further career
In 2001, the actor played one of the main roles in the comedy "The Phantom World", directed by Terry Zwigoff in his own script. The film received mostly positive reviews from the audience.
In the fantasy thriller “Jacket”, Renfro also appeared. He got the supporting role - the mysterious young Stranger.
In 2008, Brad played in the drama "Informants" by Gregor Jordan. The picture did not impress critics and did not pay off its budget at the box office. This is the last film in which Brad Renfro played. Photo actor in the role of Jack in the "Informants" is presented below.
Death
On January 15, 2008, Brad Renfro passed away. The cause of death is an overdose of heroin, as an autopsy showed. The actor has long had problems with drugs, which was the reason for his many skirmishes with the law.
Renfro was buried on January 22 in his native Knoxville, at the Red House Cemetery cemetery.
Seventeen days after the death of the actor, his grandmother Joan also died. She raised Brad from an early age, and his death was a great shock to her.