25-year-old actor Brad Renfro’s funeral and memorial service were held yesterday in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. Renfro was found dead last Tuesday morning by friends. He’d had a long history of drug and alcohol problems, and had been arrested several times, once in a highly publicized sting by the L.A.P.D. Though he’d been on probation, he was found to be in violation of it this past summer for failing to enroll in a long-term drug treatment program. Renfro first found fame when he was 12 after starring in “The Client” with Susan Sarandon. Unfortunately he went the way of many former child actors, and struggled with his addictions.

Renfro’s great-uncle Michael Earl officiated at the service.

An arrangement of red, white and yellow flowers adorned the closed casket, along with a photograph of a young, smiling Renfro, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. Approximately 600 well-wishers, including Renfro’s father and stepmother, Mark and Kim Renfro, and his mother, Angel Olsen, paid their respects. The actor’s maternal grandmother, Judy Hurt, half-sister Haley Olsen and stepbrother Dane Hoffmeister, also attended. His paternal grandmother, Joanne Renfro, who raised Renfro from the age of 5, was too ill to make it.

During his sermon, he [great-uncle Michael Earl] hinted at the actor’s past problems with drug addiction, according to the News Sentinel.

“Brad had problems just like I have problems, just like you have problems, just like all of us have trials and tribulations that we go through,” Earl said. “Was Brad perfect? Well, I can tell you, I’m not. Are you? He lived life, and he enjoyed it,” Earl later said of the actor. “Whatever he did, he did it hard as he could. … If he messed up, he’d go after it 100 percent. Yeah, I know him. And yes, I loved him.”

[From Us Weekly]

Though I could find several articles say that Renfro was raised by his grandmother, none of them state why. It’s an unusual circumstance, considering both of his parents are alive and supposedly well. It sounds like Brad’s uncle did a good job eulogizing him. He was honest and still kind. Though you want to only say nice things after someone dies, everyone knew about Brad’s struggles, so there was no point in any BS.

Sir Ian McKellen, who worked with Renfro on “Apt Pupil” wrote a nice tribute to Brad on his website. It says in part,

I first caught sight of Brad Renfro when he was kicking a football around with Bryan Singer on the half-built set of Apt Pupil in Hollywood. He was a kid having fun and that’s how I shall always remember him. But he was more than that. He was a proper actor and when we worked together he was determined to be accepted as such.

In Hollywood he was a teenage charmer, chaperoned by his beloved grandmother and by his admirers who protected him as best they could from the dangers of being a child in a careless adult’s world. On set, he was blusteringly confident although it was obvious he would have benefitted from training as an actor. Yet, as Todd, the disturbed teenager in Apt Pupil, he tapped into an inner demonic world and carried the film on his young shoulders.

[From mckellen.com]

There’s a little bit of internet gossip claiming that the coroner’s report is going to say that Brad died as a result of complications from the giant “F*** y’all” tattoo he got on his back 24 – 48 hours before his death. Though that seems highly unlikely, freak things do happen, and there an incredibly tiny possibility of infection and sepsis. I would think that a back tattoo would be hard to reach and thus tend to with ointments like you’re supposed to afterwards. If nothing else, Brad Renfro’s life is truly a cautionary tale about the dangers of fame and addiction. It seems so rare that you hear a story about a child actor whose life isn’t in some way negatively affected by their early success. It’s hard to know if it’s the fame itself, or the lack of a traditional childhood. Some have claimed it’s due in part to the unusual role reversal where they become the breadwinner for the rest of their family. Hopefully Brad has some sort of peace now.

Sir Ian McKellen, best known for his portrayal of Gandalf in “Lord of the Rings,” is one saucy old cat. He is so deliciously gay and open about anything that is on his mind. His gay rights lobby group, Stonewall, fights for equality and has been a passion of his for years. But his current wish is to have Justin Timberlake portray him in a musical about his life.

“The ‘Lord of the Rings’ star is keen to see his eventful life played out on stage and thinks the pop heartthrob would be the perfect person to portray him.

‘Justin vaguely resembles people in my family, and I think he is really talented.’”

[Monsters and Critics]

While Ian is a Justin Timberlake fan, he is first and foremost fiercely protective of his sexuality. Jake Gyllenhaal didn’t make an impression on him while answering questions about “Brokeback Mountain” last year during an interview.

“I got very upset when one of the actors (Jake Gyllenhaal) said it was the most terrifying job he’d ever had because it involved him kissing another man. Imagine how rude that is. Suppose I’d said the most appalling thing I ever to do was kiss Helen Mirren!”

[From Female First]

This is just a prime example of his personal views on Hollywood and homosexuality. In his experience the industry encourages gay actors to keep their gender preference under wraps. At times he was even asked to deny any gay allegations.

“I think to myself, ‘Can people whose minds work like that make good films? And if at the heart of Hollywood there is that lie, how many other lies are there?’ And it’s the producers who have this problem - God knows what sort of people they are - who think that it’s impossible for you and me to fancy the same person. Well, what dull lives they must have.”

[Monsters and Critics]

It is no secret that his goal is to prove that who you love, despite their gender, should not be an obstacle in any career path. Ian has also lent advice to educate the young gay community is Britain. His thoughts, along with 19 other prominent homosexuals across the pond, have been printed in a booklet designed to educate, encourage and provide help for the target audience of gay adolescents.

He is such a talented actor. I am so glad that people like Ian are out there fighting for rights like a curmudgeon superhero.

Ian McKellan is shown at The Orange British Academy Film Awards on 2/12/07, thanks to Splash News.