Brad Renfro facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brad Renfro
Renfro in Sleepers (1996)
Born	Brad Barron Renfro (1982-07-25)July 25, 1982 Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	January 15, 2008(2008-01-15) (aged 25) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Red House Cemetery, Blaine, Tennessee
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1993–2008
Children	1

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 (1994). Renfro went on to appear in 21 feature films and won 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 as he continued to star in films such as 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 a series of arrests. He died at age 25.

Early childhood

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

Acting career

At the age of 10, Renfro was discovered by Mali Finn, a casting director for Joel Schumacher. He was recommended to Finn by a former D.A.R.E. officer of his, who was captivated by Renfro's charm and street smarts. He had no prior acting experience or training at the time. Finn had contacted various agencies that worked with youth; she was looking 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 was cast by Finn in the lead role of Mark Sway in Schumacher's The Client. 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, The Client became one of the top-grossing films of 1994. In 1995, he won The Hollywood Reporter's "Young Star" award, and was nominated as one of People magazine's "Top 30 Under 30."

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 of the same name 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. He was also featured in the video for the N.E.R.D song "Provider".

Personal life

Renfro had a son, who was born in Japan in 2003 and was raised there by his mother, a Japanese citizen. Prior to Renfro's death, the public had been unaware he had a son, and mention of him did not appear in his obituary, though his son was eventually named in the obituary of Renfro's mother, Angela, who died in 2012.

Death

Renfro was found dead on January 15, 2008, in his Los Angeles apartment. He was 25 years old. His body was returned to Tennessee, where he was buried on January 22, 2008, at Red House Cemetery in the small community of Blaine, Tennessee. On February 8, 2008, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office ruled his death accidental.

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.

Legacy

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", 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."

Role of film industry in Renfro's struggles

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.

Fernando Altschul, the first assistant director of Apt Pupil, told BuzzFeed that he saw a 14-year-old Renfro at an on-set party where alcohol was available. According to Altschul, Renfro was the only underage attendee.

During Renfro's early career, his worldliness and self-confidence caused many adults who came into contact with him to believe that he was some years older than his actual age. Gemma Jackson, production designer on Tom and Huck, remembered Renfro as being 15 or 16 years of age during filming when he was actually 13. Jackson recounted to BuzzFeed that during production, Renfro had a girlfriend who was several years his senior.

Renfro's apparent maturity was reflected in his onscreen portrayals.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Awards and nominations

See also

• List of people from Knoxville, Tennessee
• List of American former child actors