About Brad Renfro
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, winning several awards. 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, going on to star in 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. At the age of 10, Renfro was discovered by Mali Finn, a casting director for Joel Schumacher. In 1995, Renfro won The Hollywood Reporter's "Young Star" award, and in 1996 was nominated as one of People magazine's "30 Under 30" list. He also won a second "Young Star" award, as well as a "Young Artist" award, for his performance in The Cure. In 1998, he starred in Apt Pupil, directed by Bryan Singer, for which he won the Best Actor award at Tokyo International Film Festival and was also nominated for a Saturn Award.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.