Brad Barron Renfro (July 25, 1982 â€" January 15, 2008) was an
American actor. Renfro made his film debut at the age of 11 with a
starring role in The Client (1994), and went on to appear in 21
feature films.Prior to being cast in The Client, Renfro had no acting
background and was living with his grandmother in a trailer park.
Director Joel Schumacher wanted to cast a "tough kid" who had the
necessary life experience to understand the character he would
portray. Renfro soon attracted a large fanbase as he continued to star
in movies like Tom and Huck and Sleepers. Beginning in the late 1990s,
Renfro had difficulties in his private life, including a series of
arrests and stints in drug treatment. He died of acute heroin and
morphine intoxication at the age of 25.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. He reportedly did not have a
close relationship with his father. Renfro's cousin, Jesse Hasek, is
the lead singer of the band 10 Years.When he was 10 years of age,
Renfro was discovered by Mali Finn, a casting director for Joel
Schumacher. He had no prior acting experience or training at the time.
Finn had contacted various agencies that worked with youth; he was
looking to cast a "tough" kid and settled on Renfro after looking at
five thousand 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 as the lead 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, Renfro won The Hollywood
Reporter's "Young Star" award, and was nominated as one of People
magazine's "Top 30 Under 30."
American actor. Renfro made his film debut at the age of 11 with a
starring role in The Client (1994), and went on to appear in 21
feature films.Prior to being cast in The Client, Renfro had no acting
background and was living with his grandmother in a trailer park.
Director Joel Schumacher wanted to cast a "tough kid" who had the
necessary life experience to understand the character he would
portray. Renfro soon attracted a large fanbase as he continued to star
in movies like Tom and Huck and Sleepers. Beginning in the late 1990s,
Renfro had difficulties in his private life, including a series of
arrests and stints in drug treatment. He died of acute heroin and
morphine intoxication at the age of 25.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. He reportedly did not have a
close relationship with his father. Renfro's cousin, Jesse Hasek, is
the lead singer of the band 10 Years.When he was 10 years of age,
Renfro was discovered by Mali Finn, a casting director for Joel
Schumacher. He had no prior acting experience or training at the time.
Finn had contacted various agencies that worked with youth; he was
looking to cast a "tough" kid and settled on Renfro after looking at
five thousand 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 as the lead 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, Renfro won The Hollywood
Reporter's "Young Star" award, and was nominated as one of People
magazine's "Top 30 Under 30."
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