There is tragic news in Hollywood, as Veronica Mars actor Brad Bufanda has sadly taken his own life at just age 34.
Best-known as Felix Toombs in the first two seasons of the Kristen Bell-lead teen drama, Bufanda may not have returned for the Veronica Mars movie, but has other screen credits which include CSI: Miami and Days of our Lives.
Details are still emerging about the incident, but Bufanda’s representative Kirsten Solem confirmed the news via THR:
Little else is known about the situation surrounding the suicide, but the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Department has since confirmed that there was a note. A body was discovered just after 1am on Wednesday, November 1, which was later revealed to belong to the Veronica Mars actor.
“We are completely devastated for he was an extremely talented young actor and wonderful, caring human being. He was reviving his career having just completed two movies, and we are shocked and saddened by his passing.”
It is thought that Bufanda jumped from a building on the 300 block of Fuller Avenue, where a homeless passer-by then called the emergency services. While the news is horrific, Bufanda was previously known for posting alarming content to social media and talking about his declining acting career with allusions to his mental health. In 2012 he shared an image where his ribs can clearly be seen, alongside the hashtag “Too pretty for Hollywood” - he said that he wanted to copy Christian Bale in The Machinist. Later that year, Bufanda posted a picture of two royalty checks for $1.62 and $38.91 with the caption “F**k Hollywood.”
Starting his career early at the age of just nine for Pocket Ninjas, Brad rose to prominence in the late ’90s and early ’00s thanks to roles in the likes of Roseanne, Malcolm in the Middle, and Even Stevens. On the silver screen, he starred alongside Hillary Duff and Chad Michael Murray in the 2004 rom-com A Cinderella Story, and Michael Cudlitz in 2012’s Dark Tourist.
Although Bufanda has passed away, he can be seen on our screens in at least one more upcoming movie. Bufanda still has a small role in Vivica A. Fox’s comedy Garlic & Gunpowder, and was working on romantic comedy Stan the Man at the time of his death. Even with a quiet few years when it came to acting, Bufanda had hopes that his latest run of movies would help reignite his struggling career. Solem has said that the family is asking for privacy at this time, and an official statement is yet to be released by those closest to him.
R.I.P. BRAD BUFANDA: MAY 4, 1983 – NOVEMBER 1, 2017.
Source: THR
