|
|
LOS ANGELES - Actor Brad Renfro, whose career
began promisingly with a childhood role in "The Client" but rapidly
faded as he struggled with drugs and alcohol, 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."He was working hard on his sobriety," Kaplan said. "He
was doing well. He was a nice person."Renfro recently completed a
role in "The Informers," a film adaptation of a Bret Easton Ellis
novel that stars Winona Ryder, Brandon Routh and Billy Bob Thornton.
"Brad was an exceptionally talented young actor and our time spent
with him was thoroughly enjoyable," Marco Weber, president of the
film's production house, Senator Entertainment, said in a
statement.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.
"It's definitely been an eye-opener," he said of his rehabilitation
program.Other run-ins with the law included a 1998 charge of cocaine
and marijuana possession, for which he avoided jail time in a plea
deal. He was also placed on probation in January 2001 and ordered to
pay $4,000 for repairs to a 45-foot yacht he and a friend tried to
steal in Florida in August 2000.
 |
|
A native of Knoxville, Tenn., Renfro's film
career began when he was 12, acting opposite Susan Sarandon and
Tommy Lee Jones in "The Client." His other credits included
"Sleepers," "Deuces Wild," "Apt Pupil" and "The Jacket."
He was arrested again in May 2001 and charged with underage
drinking, violating the terms of his probation, and was ordered into
alcohol rehabilitation the following March. |
|
