When They’re Gone

I don’t usually blog about such matters as those in the entertainment realm; usually I have interest but nothing new to contribute. At other times, it just feels right that something is said. The cinematic world this week lost two of, what I considered, the greatest actors of my generation with the untimely and unexpected passing of both Brad Renfro, 25, and Heath Ledger, 28. Of course, much has been speculated about what happened to cause their deaths – but I always felt such speculation was incredibly inappropriate, and no matter what the case, how they exited this world should not be how they are remembered. Their contribution to art is how many of us should remember them. But I’ll remember one on a more personable level.

Last week I was sad to learn of Brad Renfro’s death. Many years ago, while I was a young teenager growing up in Orange County, I had the pleasure of meeting Brad on the set of “Tom & Huck.” I was friends with another one of the young actors in the film, whom I had met via my prviate schooling at The Crystal Cathedral Academy. I was invited to the set by my friend, and spent about five or six hours there, most of which was little filming and mostly just blocking and rehearsing. Most of that time was spent conversing with both my friend and Brad. I had been a fan of his one previous film, “The Client” with Tommy Lee Jones and Susan Sharandon, and was shocked to meet him — he had lost the blonde hair and troubled boyish looks and grown into a young man with shoulder-length brown hair — much more grown up than I had thought he would be. We chatted on all the things 14-year old boys chatted about when there was really nothing to do and hanging out was the only goal. I remember thinking, even then, how down to earth and “normal” he was. I had gone to school with a couple individuals with names you would recognize, and even worst, the sons and daughters of those whose names you would recognize. Brad’s attitude was far removed from theirs.

Years later I was back in Los Angeles on an inner-city mission trip with my church to the Skid Row and inner city areas. I had managed to sneak away for five minutes to a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf near the base of the Library Tower in the Financial District. By chance, I ran into Brad, and I said hello, fully expecting him to have no idea who I was; our meeting those years ago were of no consequence. However, he fully remembered me and even my name. We spoke for about twenty minutes until I had to get back to a prayer walk that was being done up the sidesteps of the Tower up to the plaza above Bunker Hill. Still very personable, still very energetic, and grounded. I thought it a bit odd at the time, but he gave me his cell phone number and told me to give him a call the next time I was in the area. A year after our Coffee Bean encounter, I attempted to call him when I was in Hollywood with Dan, Tim, and Mike. His number was no longer in service, and we never spoke again.

I have no personal memories of Heath Ledger, but I always did admire both him and costar Jake Gyllenhal for their willingness to portray homosexuality in the film, “Brokeback Mountain.” The film was not one of my favorites, but it deffinitly said something when two prominent, idolized young actors would be willing to take on such a role. It says something about them, the time we live in, and the acceptance of others when they were not “blacklisted”, as would probably have been done in Hollywood not even 10 years prior (they went to extremes far beyond that of Tom Hanks’ portrayl as a gay man in “Philidelphia”).

As much as a loss to the cinematic world as this is, and as cheesy as it sounds to say, they will live on in their films and their works. Both actors, for the most part, chose roles that were artful and cinematic in quality, roles that would be challenging and stretching. They chose work in a matter similiar to Vincent D’Onofrio and Chistian Bale, and like those two actors, they would have only improved with age and experience. Luckily, we will be able to see them both one last time on the big screen — Brad in the upcoming “The Informers” – a “Crash”-esque drama set in 1980’s Los Angeles, and Heath as a masterfully portrayed Joker in “The Dark Knight.”

Both lived a short time, but gave the world incredible performances, and gave all every time.