Brad Barron Renfro (July 25, 1982 – January 15, 2008) was an American actor. A native of the state of Tennessee, he made his movie debut in 1994 in The Client at the age of 11 years old.

He acted in 24 movies and several television episodes during his career. In 2006, he spent 10 days in jail for conviction of driving while under the influence and attempted heroin possession.

Brad Renfro was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of Angela and Mark Renfro, who works in a blueprint factory. He was raised by his grandmother, Joanne Renfro, a church secretary.

Renfro was ten when he was discovered by Mali Finn, a casting director for Joel Schumacher. Cast by Finn for Schumacher’s The Client, Renfro acted alongside Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones. The movie was based on the bestselling John Grisham novel and became one of the top-grossing films of 1994. In 1995, he won Hollywood Reporter’s “Young Star” award, and was nominated as one of People magazine’s “Top 30 Under 30.”

In 1996 he was cast as the young Michael Sullivan for the movie Sleepers based on the novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra. The book Sleepers reportedly tells the story of Carcaterra’s own childhood in Hell’s Kitchen (NYC) and the highly traumatic time he spent in a juvenile detention centre. Michael Sullivan as a grown up was portrayed by Brad Pitt. The film Sleepers was directed by Barry Levinson and also starred Robert de Niro, Kevin Bacon, Dustin Hoffman and Jason Patric.

Renfro went on to act in other films, including 2001’s Ghost World and Bully and 2005’s The Jacket with Keira Knightley and Adrien Brody. He also played Huck Finn in 1995’s Tom and Huck with Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Renfro also appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Recently, he completed filming his role in the upcoming movie The Informers.

Death: Renfro was found dead on January 15, 2008 in his Los Angeles apartment, after he had reportedly spent the previous night drinking with friends. The cause of death has yet to be determined.

Brad Renfro Dies at 25: Actor Brad Renfro has died at age 25, Renfro died Tuesday at a Los Angeles apartment where he spent the night with friends, Craig Harvey, chief investigator for the Los Angeles county coroner.

Renfro was heard snoring overnight, but found not breathing later Tuesday morning, and the friends called 911. Paramedics declared him dead at the scene at about 9 a.m., Harvey says. A cause of death was not immediately determined, but Renfro had a history of drug problems.

Drug overdose is a “possibility considering his history, but right now all we have is the history of his drinking the previous night,” Harvey says. “All that we have is that he was last known to be alive during the morning hours and he was snoring.”

The actor, who starred in The Client and Apt Pupil, had recently completed a movie with Winona Ryder and Billy Bob Thornton.

Discovered at Age 12 Film director Joel Schumacher discovered Renfro at age 12 and cast him in the 1994 John Grisham movie The Client (which also starred Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones). The following year, PEOPLE named the young screen hopeful one of its “Top 30 Under 30.” The actor’s other credits include Tom and Huck, Ghost World and Deuces Wild.

But Renfro had a troubled life off-screen, going back to 1997 when he was sentenced to two years of probation after he tried to steal a yacht.

In 2005, Renfro was busted again, this time in a police sting in which he was charged with a felony count of attempting to possess heroin. In a separate incident, he was charged with a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence and two counts of driving with a suspended license.

In January 2006, he entered a rehab program. At the time, Renfro’s attorney, Richard Kaplan, told the Los Angeles Times that his client was doing well and “looks forward to doing whatever is necessary to take care of his personal and legal issues.” Renfro eventually plead guilty to the heroin charge and was sentenced to three years’ probation.

Most recently, in June 2007 Renfro was found to have violated his probation by not enrolling in a long-term drug treatment program. A judge warned him that if he violated probation two more times, he could be sentence to a live-in rehab program or to jail time.