Buddy Duress, the actor who starred opposite Robert Pattinson in the 2017 crime thriller Good Time, has died. He was 38.
Duress' brother, Christopher Stathis, told People that he died of "cardiac arrest from a drug cocktail" back in November.
Born Michael C. Stathis in Queens, New York, Duress had frequent run-ins with the law and even ended up homeless in 2013, according to a SSENSE profile. Prior to making his acting debut in Josh and Benny Safdie's Heaven Knows What, Duress told SSENSE that he had "just gotten out of Rikers [Island] ... for a drug charge" when he met Josh. At that point, Duress said he was on the run because he had no intention of taking part in an in-patient drug program.
"In my head it was like, as long as I can, I'm gonna be on the run and enjoy summer, and evade the authorities," he said at the time. "And when they catch me, I'll take it like a man."
While "on the run," Duress said he slept in Central Park, among other places. He had gotten out of Rikers Island, he said, on Aug. 2, 2013.
"They caught me on August 1st 2014," he said. "364 days on the run."
And in that time, he befriended the Safdie brothers, who cast him in Heaven Knows What. A few months after shooting that film, Duress said he was asked to play a small role in what would evolve into his breakout role for the film Good Time, starring opposite Pattinson. Duress starred as Ray, described as a fast-talking low-life parolee who comes alive halfway through the film. Pattinson plays the role of Connie Nikas, who, along with Duress' character, goes on a crazy one-night bender.
According to a 2017 profile in the Los Angeles Times, the Safdie brothers asked Duress to keep a journal while locked up once again at Rikers Island. Those journals ultimately made their way into the pages of Good Time's script. The Times also reported that Pattinson would sometimes visit Duress at Rikers Island during pre-production.
Good Time earned critical acclaim, including a glowing review from Pete Davidson, who raved about the film while appearing alongside Pattinson on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in June 2018. Such was his obsession over Good Time, Davidson said he'd seen the move -- "not kidding" -- 30 times, and he even wore a T-shirt featuring Pattinson and Duress in character.
"You know, I still look back at it. If I had went to that program, I wouldn't have been in Heaven Knows What, and I probably wouldn't be an actor right now," Duress shared with SSENSE. "That's the honest truth. I wouldn't."
RELATED CONTENT:
