Who was Jonathan Brandis?
Jonathan Brandis, the single child of Mary and Gregory Brandis, was born in Danbury, Connecticut. His mother worked as a teacher and personal manager, while his father was a food distributor and firefighter.
When he was just two years old, he entered the world of modeling as a child model for Buster Brown shoes. By age four, Brandis had already started appearing in TV commercials. He completed his education at San Fernando Valley Professional School and graduated in 1993.
Jonathan Brandis was in a relationship with actress and singer Tatyana Ali from 1995 to 1998. The couple was featured in a People magazine article in July 1996.
Career
Jonathan Brandis was cast as Kevin Buchanan on the TV soap opera One Life to Live at the age of six. When he was nine, his family relocated to Los Angeles and he began making occasional appearances on shows like Blossom, L.A. Law, Who’s the Boss?, Murder, She Wrote, The Wonder Years, Full House, Webster, and Kate & Allie.
When he was 13, Brandis landed his first leading role as Bastian Bux in The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter. He portrayed the character “Stuttering Bill” Denbrough in the 1990 TV miniseries Stephen King‘s It, which was adapted from the famous horror novel. Brandis received praise from both critics and viewers for his performance in the miniseries.
At 17, Jonathan Brandis got one of his most well-known roles. He played the role of Lucas Wolenczak, an intelligent scientist, in Steven Spielberg‘s futuristic sci-fi show, seaQuest DSV.
He was also given the lead in two films released in quick succession – portraying Barry Gabrewski in Sidekicks and taking on the role of Matthew/Martha in Ladybugs. The role propelled him into teen idol status.
During the peak of his fame, Jonathan Brandis was inundated with approximately 4,000 letters from fans every week and had to be accompanied by three security guards when arriving on the set of seaQuest DSV due to the large number of female admirers. He provided the voice for Mozenrath, a villainous teenage sorcerer, on Disney’s animated show Aladdin.
Following the cancellation of seaQuest DSV in 1996, Brandis made an appearance in the television movie Her Last Chance. He then went on to star in the television movie Born Free: A New Adventure, which was filmed in South Africa. He later pursued supporting roles in Outside Providence (1999) and Ride with the Devil (1999).
In 2000, he starred in Bad Girls from Valley High. However, due to distribution issues, the film was not released until 2005, two years after his passing. Brandis also had a minor role in Hart’s War (2002).
In 2003, he was chosen for the pilot 111 Gramercy Park, but the network did not ultimately pick it up. His last appearance on screen was in the action drama Puerto Vallarta Squeeze in 2004, which was also released after his death.
Cause of Death
Jonathan Brandis passed away at the age of 27 on November 11, 2003, after being discovered hanging in the hallway of his Los Angeles apartment. He was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he succumbed to injuries caused by the hanging the next day. No suicide note was found.
After he died, his friends said he was sad because he had been having trouble with his career. They also said he was disappointed when his part in the 2002 war movie Hart’s War, which he thought would help him, was much smaller in the movie’s final version. Brandis started consuming excessive amounts of alcohol and expressed his intention to take his own life.
In 2021, Jonathan’s father, Greg Brandis, observed that he was likely experiencing symptoms of bipolar disorder. In an interview with People, he said:
“His death wasn’t due to the entertainment industry. I look back now, and in his 20s, he showed signs of manic depression. I hope that anyone suffering can go get help.”
