1. Jonathan Brandis made his acting debut in 1982 as Kevin Buchanan on the soap opera One Life to Live.
20 Facts About Jonathan Brandis
1. 2.
The character was popular among teenage viewers, and Jonathan Brandis regularly appeared in teen magazines.
3.
Jonathan Gregory Brandis was born in Danbury, Connecticut, the only child of Mary, a teacher and personal manager, and Gregory Brandis, a food distributor and firefighter.
4.
At the age of four, Jonathan Brandis began acting in television commercials.
5.
Jonathan Brandis attended San Fernando Valley Professional School, graduating in 1993.
6.
At age six, Jonathan Brandis won the role of Kevin Buchanan on the soap opera One Life to Live.
7.
At age 13, Jonathan Brandis was cast in his first starring role as Bastian Bux in The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter.
8.
Jonathan Brandis played the young "Stuttering Bill" Denbrough in the 1990 television miniseries Stephen King's It, based on the epic horror novel of the same name.
9.
Around age 17, Jonathan Brandis landed one of his best-known roles, as scientific prodigy Lucas Wolenczak in Steven Spielberg's futuristic science fiction series seaQuest DSV.
10.
At the height of his popularity, Jonathan Brandis received approximately 4,000 fan letters a week and had to be escorted onto the set of seaQuest DSV by three studio security guards because of the many female fans present.
11.
Jonathan Brandis voiced Mozenrath, an evil young sorcerer, in Disney's animated series Aladdin.
12.
Jonathan Brandis's next role was in the television film Born Free: A New Adventure, which was shot in South Africa.
13.
Jonathan Brandis continued his career in supporting roles in Outside Providence and Ride with the Devil.
14.
Jonathan Brandis made his final onscreen appearance in action drama Puerto Vallarta Squeeze in 2004.
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Jonathan Brandis was friends with fellow child actor Soleil Moon Frye and was featured in her 2021 documentary Kid 90 which was culled from Frye's extensive collection of home video footage shot during the 1990s.
16.
From 1995 to 2001, Jonathan Brandis dated actress and singer Tatyana Ali.
17.
On November 11,2003, Jonathan Brandis was found hanged in the hallway of his Los Angeles apartment.
18.
Jonathan Brandis was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and died the following day of injuries sustained from the hanging.
19.
Jonathan Brandis began drinking heavily and said that he intended to kill himself.
20.
In 2021, his father, Greg Brandis, noted that Jonathan was probably suffering from bipolar disorder.