10 Good Actors Who Died Too Young

July 24 marks the birthday of Brad Renfro, the child actor most fondly remembered for his performances in The Client, Tom and Huck, Apt Pupil, and Bully, who died at the early age of 25 from an accidental overdose on heroin/morphine. In his honor, we've collected a list of similarly talented actors who died before reaching their Hollywood zenith and actualizing their potential. From overdoses to suicides and other horrific accidents, here are 10 Good Actors Who Died Too Young.

Written by Frazier Tharpe (@The_SummerMan)

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Jonathan Brandis

Died: 11/12/03 (27)

Cause of Death: Suicide

Notable Work: Ladybugs, Sidekicks, seaQuest DSV (TV series)

Brandis was mostly known as a child actor and for his role on seaQuest DSV, a moderately popular NBC series in the late '90s, but his career slowed after that. Depression ensued, and he put all his comeback hopes on his supporting role in Hart's War, only to have all of his scenes dropped from the final cut. He hung himself in his apartment a year later.

David Strickland

Died: 3/22/99 (29)

Cause of Death: Suicide

Notable Work: Suddenly Susan (TV series)

Strickland found success on the sitcom Suddenly Susan, a Brooke Shields vehicle that aired on NBC for four years, and was reportedly always an easy-going presence on set. Couple that with his recent romance with everyone's dream girl Tiffani Thiessen, and a potential big-screen breakthrough with a role in Sandra Bullock's Forces of Nature, and it's easy to understand why those close to him were shocked when he committed suicide in a Las Vegas motel. Despite his projected carefree attitude, coroners discovered signs that this was not the first attempt, and co-stars confessed he battled a history of alcohol and drug abuse.

Brad Renfro

Died: 1/15/08 (25)

Cause of Death: Accidental Overdose

Notable Work: The Client, Tom and Huck, Apt Pupil, Ghost World, Bully

After making a name for himself at age 11 starring in Joel Schumacher's adaptation of John Grisham's The Client, Renfro fulfilled the grim destiny of many child actors, descending into a life of constant drug use and trouble with the law. The Knoxville, TN native had been arrested for substance abuse and/or possession at least three times before being found dead of a heroin/morphine overdose in his LA apartment.

Dominique Dunne

Died: 11/4/82 (22)

Cause of Death: Murdered

Notable Work: Poltergeist

Dominique Dunne was enjoying her first major Hollywood break with a supporting role in Poltergeist, and planned to follow it with a role in the eventual cult miniseries V. While rehearsing at her house with a co-star, Dunne argued with and was ultimately strangled to the point of unconsciousness by her abusive ex-boyfriend, LA chef John Thomas Sweeney, in the backyard. She fell into a deep coma before being removed from life support by her parents a few days later. Her V part went to actress Blair Tefkin and the miniseries was dedicated to her after completion.

John Belushi

Died: 3/5/82 (33)

Cause of Death: Accidental Overdose

Notable Work: Saturday Night Live (TV series), National Lampoon's Animal House, The Blues Brothers

James Belushi's older brother was a comedy darling in the late '70s thanks to the still resonant Animal House and his scene-stealing position in the Saturday Night Live cast. An arguably unstoppable reign was just beginning when he was found dead at the Chateau Marmont, having overdosed from taking a Speedball, a combined injection of heroin and cocaine.

Chris Farley

Died: 12/18/97 (33)

Cause of Death: Accidental Overdose

Notable Work: Saturday Night Live (TV series), Black Sheep, Beverly Hills Ninja, Tommy Boy

Eerily enough, Farley died in a near identical manner—and at the exact same age—as his SNL predecessor John Belushi. By the time he was found dead from a drug cocktail overdose, he had been fighting a public battle with addiction and obesity for years. When he died, he had 100 SNL appearances to his name (including many classic sketches) and like most SNL graduates, he was enjoying an increasingly profitable film career. At the time of his death he was scheduled to voice the titular role in a little animated comedy called Shrek.

River Phoenix

Died: 10/31/93 (23)

Cause of Death: Drug-induced heart failure

Notable Work: Stand by Me, Running on Empty, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, My Own Private Idaho

River Phoenix, Joaquin's elder brother, had seen growing prominence in Hollywood since he landed one of the starring roles in Stand by Me, the classic adaptation of Stephen King's novella The Body. When he died outside of The Viper Room, his acting career and reliability as a strong leading man had just been solidified with Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho. The autopsy uncovered a myriad of drugs and otherwise illegal substances in his system, a controversial discovery since prior to his death his public persona was perceived to be cleaner than Bieber's. James Cameron later said that he had wanted Phoenix to play the coveted Hollywood heartthrob role of Jack Dawson in Titanic.

Brandon Lee

Died: 3/31/93 (28)

Cause of Death: Accidental set shooting

Notable Work: Showdown in Little Tokyo, Rapid Fire, The Crow

Brandon, son of iconic martial artist Bruce Lee, was just taking off as a lead actor when he was accidentally shot during the last days of filming The Crow. A prop gun that was thought to contain blanks actually had a fragment of a real bullet lodged in the chamber, due to a fatally negligent mix-up.

The Crow employed special effects to give Lee's stunt double his face so that filming could be completed, but the movie's box office success suggests that Brandon was on the verge of making a name, identity, and ultimately career, separate of his famous father's legacy.

Heath Ledger

Died: 1/22/08 (28)

Cause of Death: Accidental overdose

Notable Work: 10 Things I Hate About You, A Knight's Tale, The Patriot, Brokeback Mountain, The Dark Knight

Heath Ledger's fatal, accidental overdose on prescription sleep meds quickly became one of Hollywood's most infamous deaths, due largely to his hotly anticipated, previously mysterious performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight. His untimely death took the movie's pop culture significance to new heights and his winning performance earned him rave reviews and eventually a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, displaying a level of talent that surprised even his biggest fans. A popular theory suggests that Ledger's insomnia was a result of totally immersing himself in the Joker role.

James Dean

Died: 9/30/55 (24)

Cause of Death: Car crash

Notable Work: Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden, Giant

James Dean's car crash while behind the wheel of his Porsche 550 Spyder is one of the most infamous premature Hollywood deaths, in that he had already made a sizable imapct on the game with merely two big-screen starring roles. This was of course due in large part to Rebel Without a Cause, which cemented him as an instant icon amongst teenagers. His posthumous Oscar nomination for Giant and his careful role selections are good indicators that he was in the early beginnings of a long, storied Hollywood career, likely of Brando proportions.