Buddy Duress, a prolific film actor best known for his roles in Good Times and Heaven Knows what, has reportedly died at the age of 38. His cause of death has been revealed as cardiac arrest.
Duress was best known for his role in the 2017 film “Good Time” alongside stars such as Benny Safdie and Robert Pattinson.
Buddy Duress (né Michael C. Stathis), the actor known for his roles in Good Times and Heaven 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.
https://people.com/buddy-duress-good-times-actor-dead-at-38-8601304
Buddy was born in Queens, New York, in 1985 and began his acting career at the age of 14 with a role in the 2014 film “Heaven Knows What.”
Duress struggled with substance abuse issues throughout his career, even ending up in prison for drug charges. After being released from Rikers Island in 2013, Buddy met Josh Safdie, who later produced the film “Good Time” in 2017.
Safdie used stories from Duress’ time in prison as inspiration for the film. Josh went as far as to give Duress a pivotal role in the film.
In his short career, Buddy accumulated 8 movie credits, appearing in “Funny Pages”, “Flinch”, “PVT Chat”, “Beware of Dog”, “The Great Darkened Days”, “Good Time”, “Person to Person”, and “Heaven Knows What”.
Director of several short films that included Duress, Jay Karales, released a statement following the actors death.
“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 film Flinch. I’m heartbroken that his life came to an end as it did,” Van Hoy tells PEOPLE.
https://people.com/buddy-duress-good-times-actor-dead-at-38-8601304
As well as the films that have been released, “Duress is also featured in two upcoming films, which will be released later this year.
Duress is survived by his mother, Jo-Anne, and his younger brother, Christopher.
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