Brad Renfro
Updated: 12/11/2025, 5:17:38 PM Wikipedia source
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. In 2012, he was ranked at #63 on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars" list. 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 drug addiction and a series of arrests. He died at age 25 of acute heroin and morphine intoxication.
Infobox
Tables
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
| 1994 | The Client | Mark Sway | ||
| 1995 | The Cure | Erik | ||
| Tom and Huck | Huckleberry Finn | |||
| 1996 | Sleepers | Young Michael Sullivan | ||
| 1997 | Telling Lies in America | Karchy "Chucky" Jonas | ||
| 1998 | Apt Pupil | Todd Bowden | ||
| 1999 | 2 Little, 2 Late | Jimmy Walsh | ||
| 2000 | Herschel Hopper: New York Rabbit | Tanner | ||
| Skipped Parts | Dothan Talbot | |||
| 2001 | Bully | Marty Puccio | Also associate producer | |
| Ghost World | Josh | |||
| Happy Campers | Wichita | |||
| Tart | William Sellers | |||
| The Theory of the Leisure Class | Billy | |||
| 2002 | American Girl | Jay Grubb | ||
| Deuces Wild | Bobby | |||
| 2003 | Citizen Tony | Thoren (voice) | Television film | |
| The Job | Troy Riverside | |||
| 2004 | Mummy an' the Armadillo | Wyatte | ||
| 2005 | Hollywood Flies | Jamie | ||
| The Jacket | The Stranger | |||
| 2006 | 10th and Wolf | Vincent | ||
| 2008 | The Informers | Jack | Posthumous release; final role; dedicated in memory | |
| 2025 | George A. Romero's Resident Evil | Himself | Archive footage |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
| 2000 | Recess | (Voice) | Episode: "Germ Warfare" | |
| 2000 | Teacher's Pet | Miles (voice) | Episode: “Movin' on Pup/Escaping Dog Trick” | |
| 2003 | Slumber Party with Madonna and Dana Pullman | Charles Polka | Episode: Sleeper by the Dozen | |
| 2006 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Duane Winslow | Episode: "Watch" |
| Year | Artist | Title | Ref. |
| 1998 | The Rolling Stones | "Gimme Shelter" | |
| 2002 | N.E.R.D | "Provider" | |
| 2005 | 10 Years | "Wasteland |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Results | Ref. |
| 1995 | Chicago Film Critics Association | Most Promising Actor | The Client | Nominated | |
| 1995 | YoungStar Awards | Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Drama Film | The Client | Won | |
| 1995 | Young Artist Awards | Best Performance by a Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture | The Client | Won | |
| 1996 | YoungStar Awards | Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy Film | Tom and Huck | Nominated | |
| 1996 | Young Artist Awards | Young Artist Award for Best Young Leading Actor in a Feature Film (shared with Joseph Mazzello) | The Cure | Nominated | |
| 1997 | YoungStar Awards | Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Drama Film | Sleepers | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Tokyo International Film Festival | Best Actor Award | Apt Pupil | Won | |
| 1999 | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor | Apt Pupil | Nominated | |
| 2003 | New York International Independent Film Festival | Best Actor | The Theory of the Leisure Class | Won | |
| 2004 | Sedona International Film Festival | Director's Choice Award for Most Spirited Rising Performer | — | Won | |
| 2004 | Breckenridge Festival of Film | Best Ensemble Cast | Mummy an' the Armadillo | Won | |
| 2008 | Action On Film International Film Festival | Best Actor | Collector | Won |
References
- Legacy.comhttps://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/angela-olsen-obituary?pid=156339726
- Yahoo! Movieshttps://web.archive.org/web/20070314091854/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800212911/bio
- Film Reference.comhttp://www.filmreference.com/film/14/Brad-Renfro.html
- Details – Google Bookshttps://books.google.com/books?id=hDQ4AQAAIAAJ&q=%22dossier+tory+of+drug-and-alcohol+related%22
- The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/12/movies/for-client-a-survivor-age-10.html
- BuzzFeed Newshttps://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adambvary/how-hollywood-failed-brad-renfro
- Buzzfeed Newshttps://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adambvary/how-hollywood-failed-brad-renfro
- EL PAÍShttps://english.elpais.com/culture/2024-09-18/there-has-never-been-another-child-actor-like-him-brad-renfro-the-tragic-star-that-hollywood-forgot.html#
- Knoxville News Sentinelhttps://www.knoxnews.com/story/entertainment/2019/01/13/brad-renfro-child-actor-death-client-knoxville/2509110002/
- Knox Viewshttps://www.knoxviews.com/sad-news-brad-renfro-found-dead
- Peoplehttps://web.archive.org/web/20170423062842/https://people.com/archive/30-under-30-vol-46-no-21
- Herald Sunhttps://archive.today/20120629155932/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/young-hollywood-star-dies/story-e6frf96x-1111115330729
- MTV Newshttps://web.archive.org/web/20080117133656/http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1579719/20080115/story.jhtml
- The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jan/18/usa.film
- ARTISTdirecthttps://web.archive.org/web/20160315150524/http://www.artistdirect.com/entertainment-news/article/interview-10-years/4706038
- US Magazinehttps://web.archive.org/web/20080128035920/http://www.usmagazine.com/exclusive_brad_renfro_told_cousin_he_wanted_to_marry_his_sons_mother
- Now magazinehttps://web.archive.org/web/20081217163516/http://www.nowmagazine.co.uk/celebrity-news/248324/brad-renfro-spent-several-days-with-secret-son-before-he-died/1/
- Knoxville News Sentinelhttp://www.legacy.com/KnoxNews/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=101570815
- Legacy.comhttps://www.legacy.com/obituaries/knoxnews/obituary-preview.aspx?n=angela-denise-olsen&pid=156339726
- United Press Internationalhttps://www.upi.com/Archives/1998/06/05/Actor-Renfro-charged-in-drug-case/3527897019200/
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazettehttp://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PG&p_theme=pg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADFD34961504FF&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
- Spartanburg Herald-Journalhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1wUoAAAAIBAJ&pg=6305,974548
- Los Angeles Timeshttps://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-feb-10-ca-drugs10-story.html
- The Daily Telegraphhttps://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-a-moral-message-in/136883604/
- The Commercial Appealhttps://www.newspapers.com/article/the-commercial-appeal-big-bad-brad-is-th/136883540/
- Legacy.comhttp://www.legacy.com/ns/brad-renfro-obituary/101328398
- The Miami Heraldhttp://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F16EE4AECCD15D4&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
- The Post and Courierhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xKRIAAAAIBAJ&pg=3568,3407454
- Peoplehttps://people.com/celebrity/actor-brad-renfro-busted-in-police-sting/
- BBC Newshttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7191145.stm
- Los Angeles Timeshttps://web.archive.org/web/20080206234240/http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-renfro17jan17,1,1611159.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california
- BBC Newshttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4788750.stm
- CNN.comhttp://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/15/renfro.obit.ap/index.html
- People.comhttps://people.com/celebrity/brad-renfro-dies-at-25/
- www.knoxnews.comhttp://www.knoxnews.com/entertainment/pop-culture/no-regrets-for-renfro-ep-412186177-360021341.html
- Knoxville News Sentinelhttps://archive.knoxnews.com/entertainment/pop-culture/friends-and-family-remember-renfro-ep-412188953-360023191.html
- Knoxville News Sentinelhttps://www.knoxnews.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/2019/01/09/brad-renfro-through-years-knoxville-death-client-ghost-world-child-actor-overdose-scarlett-johansson/2477024002/
- Access Hollywoodhttp://www.accesshollywood.com/articles/brad-renfro-warned-of-perils-of-drugs-in-last-interview-62457/
- Los Angeles Timeshttp://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-renfro9feb09-story.html
- Knoxville News Sentinelhttp://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/feb/03/brad-renfros-grandmother-76-dies/
- WBIR.comhttp://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/feb/03/brad-renfros-grandmother-76-dies/
- Today Showhttps://www.today.com/popculture/brad-renfro-excluded-oscar-memorial-wbna23342056
- MTVhttps://web.archive.org/web/20141213121317/http://www.mtv.com/news/1582232/brad-renfro-why-was-he-left-out-of-oscars-in-memoriam-montage-the-academy-responds/
- The Seattle Timeshttps://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/the-deadly-path-of-brad-renfro/
- Peoplehttps://people.com/movies/brad-renfro-shocking-death-25/
- Torcheshttps://americansongwriter.com/10-years-later-mark-foster-reflects-on-the-success-of-foster-the-peoples-torches-i-dont-think-anything-can-prepare-somebody-for-something-like-tha/
- The Thing Quarterlyhttps://web.archive.org/web/20131203001839/http://www.thethingquarterly.com/quarterly/issue-14-james-franco.html
- The Thing Quarterlyhttps://web.archive.org/web/20131203012908/http://www.thethingquarterly.com/projects/james-franco.html
- Los Angeles Timeshttps://web.archive.org/web/20220730180811/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-10-02-ca-52322-story.html