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Canadian actor Spencer Lofranco died on Tuesday this week, according to the B.C. Coroners Service. He was 33 years old.
In an email to CBC News, a spokesperson for the coroners service said the cause of death is not known at this time, and that no other details could be shared because his death is under investigation.
Lofranco, who was born in Toronto, starred in titles including the 2018 biographical movie about mob boss John Gotti, titled Gotti, alongside John Travolta, and a 2016 film about the pornography industry, King Cobra.
According to multiple reports, Lofranco’s brother, Santino Lofranco, also posted about the death on Instagram before making his account private.
“You lived a life only some could dream of,” Santino wrote in the caption of a post of images of his brother, according to People. “You changed people lives, and now you are with God. I will always love you and miss you Bear.”
Lofranco had seven credits to his name in films made from 2013 to 2018, according to IMDB. Gotti in 2018 was his last acting role, while his first was the 2013 rom-com At Middleton.
Other roles included a small part in Unbroken, a second world war film directed by Angelina Jolie, and as the star of Jamesy Boy, a 2014 film about a young gang member who turns his life around during a stint in prison.
According to an interview Lofranco did with Interview magazine in 2014, Lofranco landed the role in Jamesy Boy in his first-ever audition.
Lofranco told Interview that he decided he wanted to be an actor at the age of 17, before taking acting classes and landing a year-long conservatory at the New York Film Academy. He also recalled being the “funny guy” as a kid who always wanted to be the centre of attention — but said it sometimes landed him in trouble.
He said he related to the character he played in Jamesy Boy because he’d been sent to military high school and the character was institutionalized at a young age.
He also noted it was “crazy” he was slated to work with Jolie on the then-upcoming film Unbroken, and said he wanted to do “real-life, candid films” in his career.
