Buddy Duress attends “Good Time” New York Premiere at SVA Theater on August 8, 2017.Photo:Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage
Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage
Buddy Duress (né Michael C. Stathis), the actor known for his roles inGood TimesandHeaven Knows What,has died. He was 38.
Duress died of “cardiac arrest from a drug cocktail” in November 2023, his brother Christopher Stathis confirmed exclusively with PEOPLE on Tuesday.
Director Jay Karales shared the news on Friday in apost on X (formerly known as Twitter), andThe US Sunshared news of his death on Monday.
Born in Queens, New York, in May 1985. Duress starred in two of the Safdie Brothers’ indie films. His first acting role was inBennyandJosh Safdie’s 2014 featureHeaven Knows What.
“You know, I still look back at it. If I had went to that program, I wouldn’t have been inHeaven Knows What, and I probably wouldn’t be an actor right now. That’s the honest truth. I wouldn’t,” Duress told SSense.
Once he was released again, the filmmakers enlisted Duress to write a journal about his time in the prison, and they adapted his stories into their script forGood Time, reported theLos AngelesTimes.
Three years afterHeaven Knows What, he starred oppositeRobert PattinsoninGood Time.
Buddy Duress in “Flinch”.Flinch
Flinch
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After his role inGood Time, Duress starred in several more feature and short films, including86’d,The MountainandThe Great Darkened Days. Then, in 2019, he was arrested on charges of grand larceny in the third degree and taken back to Rikers, reported theNew York Post.
While filmingFlinchthat same year, Duress was arrested for threatening to burn his mother Jo-Anne’s house down. Shortly afterFlinchdirector Cameron Van Hoy and Jo-Anne bailed out Duress, he was arrested and taken back to Rikers for charges of menacing and criminal possession of brass knuckles and a controlled substance, reported theNew York Post.
“Buddy was pure electricity on screen. Working with him was one of the great adventures of my life. He was a kind person who loved making films. Despite any troubles he was going through in life he somehow managed to put them aside when it came time to work. We grew quite close after the production of our filmFlinch. I’m heartbroken that his life came to an end as it did,” Van Hoy tells PEOPLE.
Buddy Duress in “Flinch.".Flinch
“Buddy Duress was a once in a lifetime charismatic actor and a genuinely humble man that left an impression on everyone he met. I was extremely fortunate to be able to direct him and get to know him off-set during our time shootingMass State Lottery,“Karales tells PEOPLE.
“What happened is a tragic and frustrating loss of visceral talent. He lived like a cowboy and carrying the weight of that kind of life informed his skills and performances in a way that made him irreplaceable as an actor. He has unfortunately become the John Cazale of our generation,” Karales added.
source: people.com
