In Memoriam

I should have posted this earlier.

Last week, only seven days before the sudden death of Heath Ledger, we had lost another promising and very young actor to addiction and possibly depression, Brad Renfro (1982-2008).

I remember seeing him for the first time on film when he played the part of a young kid who witnesses a murder in The Client, alongside big marquee names like Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Mary-Louise Parker, and Anthony LaPaglia, and stealing every scene he was in.

Afterwards, I saw him in three other movies, Sleepers, Apt Pupil, and Bully, all very good films, and he was excellent in all of them.

The characters he played were often troubled individuals, so perhaps his own tribulations and inner demons helped him in tackling them.

One thing is certain, he was very talented and would most certainly have created many more indelible characters in the years to come.

He was only 25. His sudden and unexpected passing brings to memory that of River Phoenix, another promising and talented young actor gone too soon.

He'll be missed.