Fans are remembering late actor and former child starJonathan Brandison what would have been his 45th birthday. Famous for his many roles as a child actor includingLadybugs,Sidekicks, and theItminiseries, Brandis was one of the breakout stars of the 1990s who still had an entire life left to live in front of him. Sadly, it all came to an end in 2003 when Brandis died by suicide at the age of 27.
Fans can only imagine what Brandis would be doing at the age of 45 if he were still with us. Taking to Twitter, many are expressing their thoughts on Brandis and how the pain of hisdeathstill hurts all these years later. Posting a GIF of the young actor, one fan writes, “Jonathan Brandis, watching anything about him breaks my heart.”
“happy 45thbirthdayjonathan brandis miss you,” another fan says.
“Happy 45th Birthday to my angel prince, Jonathan Brandis,” writes someone else. “Your memory lives on through all those that love you. we miss you!”
Including a photo collage of many of Jonathan’s roles as a child actor, another tweet reads: “Remembering the incredible Jonathan Brandis (July 11, 2025 - June 04, 2025), on his birthday today.”
Another fan tweeted, “happy 45th birthday jonathan brandis. i sure do miss you. i’ll see you again one day :) #jonathanbrandis i love you.”
There’s any number of roles fans of Brandis might remember him from the most. He’ll always have a place with horror fans due to his role as the young Bill Denbrough inStephen King’s It miniseries. For his role as Lucas Wolenczack onseaQuest DSV, he found even greater fame by winning the Young Artist Award in 1994. A teen idol whose face adorned scores of magazine covers at the time, Brandis was one of the most recognizable young stars of the era.
On the movie side, Brandis scored his first starring role in the1990 sequel The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter. He also co-starred with Chuck Norris in the highly memorable action-comedy movieSidekicksin 1992 and worked with legendary comedian Rodney Dangerfield that same year on the soccer movieLadybugs. One of his final roles came in the 2002 dramaHart’s War, though his scenes were drastically reduced for the theatrical cut.
Just recently, Brandis returned to the spotlight when he posthumously appeared in the Hulu documentaryKid 90. Directed and produced byPunky Brewsterstar Soleil Moon Frye, the movie follows the young actress as she carried a video camera around with her in the 1990s. Brandis was among many other stars of the 90s who appeared in Moon Frye’s footage, appearing alongside other names like Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Stephen Dorff, Corey Feldman, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Sara Gilbert. The movie is now streaming on Hulu.
Happy heavenly birthday to Jonathan Brandis. The acting legend might be gone, but it’s clear from the fan tributes on what would have been his 45th birthday that he will never be forgotten. May he continue to rest in peace.
