Jonathan Brandis

The Boy Who Never Was a Boy

Jonathan Brandis never had a Plan B, because Plan A started when he could barely talk. By age two he was already posing for children's clothing catalogs, and by four he was filming TV commercials for national brands. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was nine to chase an industry that devours new faces at a staggering pace.

This was not a hobby, it was a full-time job.

In 1990 the industry handed him the keys to a saga that was already legendary. He starred in The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter, and although critics were harsh on the sequel, his face stuck in the memory of a generation. But it was television that finished building the myth of the perfect teen.

The Weight of Being an Underwater Idol

Steven Spielberg caught the eye of the producers for SeaQuest DSV in 1993. He played a computer genius aboard a futuristic submarine, and the audience response was outsized. He received about 4,000 fan letters every week and needed bodyguards to walk through shopping malls.

The series ran for three seasons, but he was immediately typecast. Brandis tried to move away from the angelic blond image by seeking more technical roles. In 1996 he began focusing on directing and writing in an effort to take control of his own professional career.

But the phone stopped ringing as often once he turned twenty.

The move from teen star to adult actor is a minefield few get through successfully. In 2002, Brandis pinned all his hopes on Hart's War, a war film in which he shared the bill with Bruce Willis and Colin Farrell. He was convinced that this supporting role would earn him the respect the industry had denied him.

The Final Cut That Broke Everything

The blow came in the editing room. Most of his scenes were cut from the final edit, and his presence in the film was reduced to an almost token appearance. Close friends confirmed that this professional snub plunged him into a deep depression he never managed to escape.

And the end came on a Tuesday in November.

On November 12, 2003, Jonathan Brandis died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after a suicide attempt the night before. He was 27 years old and left no goodbye note. His last credited work was the pilot episode of 111 Gramercy Park, a production that never aired.