A talented actor known for The Client and Apt Pupil, Brad Renfro battled a heroin addiction behind the scenes and died of an overdose in 2008.
Warner Bros./YouTubeBrad Renfro in the Joel Schumacher film The Client.
The history of Hollywood is full of tragic stories about child stars. One of these troubled young actors was Brad Renfro.
Renfro began his career with a starring role in the 1994 film The Client, despite having no previous acting experience. Needless to say, he had a natural talent, and many other opportunities soon followed.
But behind the scenes, Brad Renfro’s personal life was spiraling out of control. He had a long struggle with substance abuse, which began when he was still a child, and he also had multiple run-ins with the law. Sadly, Renfro died of an accidental heroin overdose on Jan. 15, 2008. He was just 25.
Brad Renfro’s Rise To Stardom
Renfro Family PhotoYoung Brad Renfro in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Brad Renfro was born on July 25, 1982, in Knoxville, Tennessee. When he was five years old, his parents got divorced. Since Brad’s father was largely absent and his mother was a heroin user, Brad was primarily raised by his grandmother, JoAnne Renfro, who tried to set a better example.
When Brad was 10 years old, he attended the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program at Lincoln Park Elementary School. The officer teaching the class, Dennis Bowman, said that Brad caused so much disruption that he kicked him out on the very first day.
In a twist of fate, a casting agency soon reached out to Bowman, as they were searching for a “tough, streetwise kid” to cast in an upcoming movie. Bowman immediately thought of Brad, later remembering, “He was a little hellion, but it was hard not to like him. You wanted to just take him under your wing and try to squeeze some sense into him.”
Brad was soon selected to play the character Mark Sway in the 1994 film The Client. The character, who was a young witness in a Mafia case, seemed like a natural fit for the new actor in terms of his personality and behavior. Unfortunately, Brad also related to the character’s drinking and smoking, habits that he had already picked up by the age of 10.
While Brad had no prior experience in acting, his impressive work in The Client would ultimately launch a whirlwind career in Hollywood.
TriStar Pictures/YouTubeBrad Renfro and Ian McKellen in Apt Pupil.
The success of The Client led to Brad winning The Hollywood Reporter’s “Young Star” award. He was later nominated for People’s “Top 30 Under 30.”
He continued to rack up roles throughout the 1990s, including Huckleberry Finn in Tom and Huck and Erik in The Cure. He was also in Sleepers and Telling Lies in America. And Brad’s work in the 1998 film Apt Pupil earned him the Best Actor award at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
He seemed to have a promising career ahead of him, but behind the scenes, he appeared to be struggling. Despite his young age, he was often seen chain smoking and sneaking beers when he thought no one was looking.
Chillingly, Brad Renfro later revealed to his friends that he was also using heroin, which he had started injecting around age 12. He also said he had been born addicted to heroin because of his mother’s addiction.
Ongoing Struggles With Substance Abuse And Run-Ins With The Law
Broward County Sheriff’s OfficeBrad Renfro’s mug shot from 2000.
Brad Renfro was just 15 years old when he was first arrested on drug charges alongside his 19-year-old cousin in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1998. The younger teen was caught with both marijuana and cocaine.
The young actor ended up entering a plea bargain, in which he agreed to participate in random drug tests. At the time, he seemed to be mostly optimistic about what this incident might mean for his future.
“I’m glad I got arrested, because it taught me a lot,” Brad Renfro told People. “I’ve had several months of being sober — I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Unfortunately, he wasn’t out of the woods. As the years progressed, he continued to struggle with substance abuse. By the time he was 18, he said that he had already been to rehab “a couple” of times.
His next run-in with the law was in 2000, when he and his friend attempted to steal a yacht in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Renfro was charged with grand theft and criminal mischief. As a result, he was sentenced to two years probation and he was also ordered to pay the yacht repair costs.
Unsurprisingly, Brad Renfro’s struggles with substance abuse and legal troubles had a big impact on his reputation in the public eye.
In 2001, he violated his probation after being arrested for underage drinking. He then violated his probation again in 2002 after getting arrested for public intoxication and for driving without a valid license. Following these incidents, he was forcibly placed in a rehabilitation program.
Still, his troubles continued. In 2005, Renfro was charged with driving under the influence. That same year, he faced perhaps his most infamous arrest when he was caught trying to buy heroin in Los Angeles’ Skid Row.
Renfro was charged with a felony count of attempting to possess heroin, and the photo of his arrest made it to the front page of The Los Angeles Times. By this point, Renfro’s career was clearly not what it once was. He was still working, but mainly doing smaller roles or appearing in direct-to-video films.
Sadly, he would never have the chance to make a true comeback.
Brad Renfro’s Death And His Tragic Legacy
Find a GraveBrad Renfro’s grave at Red House Cemetery in Blaine, Tennessee.
Brad Renfro’s drug problems would ultimately pave the way for his untimely death at the age of 25. On Jan. 15, 2008, Renfro was found unresponsive and not breathing in his Los Angeles apartment by his girlfriend.
He had spent the prior night out with friends, and his girlfriend reported in her 911 call that he “might have taken a couple of pills last night.” Sadly, it was soon clear that he couldn’t be saved. Brad Renfro’s death was later ruled an accident caused by acute heroin/morphine intoxication.
Renfro’s cousin Jesse Hasek later said that Renfro had been attempting to make positive lifestyle changes leading up to his demise and seemed to be in good spirits during their last reunion. As Hasek recalled: “This time, he was like, ‘I’ve got it figured out.’ It was the happiest I’ve seen him.”
After Brad Renfro’s death, it was also revealed that he had a young son, who was living in Japan with the mother, a Japanese citizen.
In all, Brad Renfro left behind a complicated legacy. Though he was remembered for his talent for playing troubled, intense, and vulnerable characters, he was also remembered for his many personal struggles. In recent years, many have suggested that Hollywood failed to properly support and protect Renfro during his childhood and into his teens.
According to a Buzzfeed report, Renfro was invited to otherwise-adult-only gatherings when he was underage, and alcohol was present at these meetups. He started being depicted as a “heartthrob” when he wasn’t even 14, and the director Peter Horton praised the minor for his “sex appeal.” Renfro’s explicit and traumatic scenes in Apt Pupil have also been re-examined in recent years, especially since that movie was directed by Bryan Singer, who has faced many allegations of misconduct with minors.
In a tragic full circle moment, the DARE officer who helped launch Brad Renfro’s acting career commented on his fatal overdose shortly after his death: “With all the other problems he had, I can’t say I was dumbfounded. I told everybody in 1993, ‘[Acting] will either be the best thing or the worst thing for Brad. Time will tell.’ I guess it told today.”
After reading about the life and death of Brad Renfro, go inside the heartbreaking story of former child star Bobby Driscoll. Then, discover the shocking stories of Hollywood stage parents who exploited their own kids.
