Brad Renfo's Acting Career
Renfro was ten when he was discovered by Mali Finn, a casting director for Joel Schumacher, director of The Client. He played the title role in the film, adapted from a best-selling John Grisham novel, opposite Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones. The suspense/drama was one of the top-grossing films of 1994. Renfro went on to act in other films including 2001's Ghost World and Bully and 2005's The Jacket with Keira Knightley and Adrien Brody. He also played Huck Finn in Tom and Huck with Jonathan Taylor Thomas. In 1995, he won Hollywood Reporter's "Young Star" award and was nominated as one of People magazine's "Top 30 Under 30". Renfro also appeared in "Watch", an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
He was in the Japanese Biohazard 2 commercial, acting as Leon S. Kennedy, one of the game's characters.
Recently he completed filming his role in the upcoming film The Informers.
His Personal Life
Renfro was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of Angela and Mark Renfro, who works in a blueprint factory. He was raised by his grandmother, Joanne Renfro, a church secretary.
Brad Renfo's Death
Brad Renfro was found dead Tuesday in his home. He was 25. Paramedics pronounced him dead at 9 a.m., said Craig Harvey, chief investigator for the Los Angeles County coroner's office. The cause of death was not immediately determined, Harvey said, but an autopsy could be conducted as early as Wednesday. Renfro had reportedly been drinking with friends the evening before his death, Harvey said. Renfro's lawyer, Richard Kaplan, said he did not know whether the death was connected to any problems with addiction. The actor struggled with drugs and alcohol, but "he was working hard on his sobriety," Kaplan said. "He was doing well. He was a nice person." The actor served 10 days in jail in May 2006
after pleading no contest to driving while intoxicated and guilty to attempted possession of heroin. The latter charge stemmed from his arrest in Los Angeles' Skid Row area, when he attempted to buy heroin from an undercover officer in 2005. For several years he was better known for that drug bust and the resulting criminal case than for acting. After one court appearance, he talked to reporters about drug rehabilitation, saying he was "tired of paying the consequences" for drinking and drug use and eager to get clean. The cause of death has yet to be determined.
Source:
Wikipedia