Brandis was born in Danbury, Connecticut who, at the age of four, began acting in television commercials. He soon won the role of Kevin Buchanan on the soap opera One Life to Live. This soon led to other television roles on showsAside from acting, Brandis dated singer Tatyana M. Ali from 1995 until 1998.
After SeaQuest was canceled, Brandis had difficulty recreating that level of success. On November 11, 2003, Brandis hanged himself in his L.A. apartment building and died the next day. He was only 27 years old. Friends reported that he was depressed about his dwindling career and became a heavy drinker.
Selected filmography
- One Life to Live (1982) as Kevin Buchanan
- Kate & Allie (1984) as Chip's friend
- Sledge Hammer! (1986) as Young Sledge
- L.A. Law (1986) as Kevin Talbot
- Oliver & Company (1988) as Additional voices
- The Wrong Guys (1988) as Kid Tim
- Pet Sematary (1989) as Voiceover narration
- The Stepfather II (1989) as Todd Grayland
- Full House (1989) as Michael Monford
- Who's the Boss? (1989) as Paul
- Ghost Dad (1990) as Additional voices
- The Never Ending Story II The Next Chapter (1990) as Bastian Bux
- It (1990) as Young Bill Denbrough
- Murder, She Wrote (1990) as Kevin Bryce
- The Flash (1990) as Terry Cohan
- Alien Nation (1990) as Andron
- Blossom (1991) as Stevie
- The Wonder Years (1991) as Steve
- Ladybugs (1992) as Matthew/Martha
- Sidekicks (1992) as Barry Gabewiski
- Crossroads (1992) as Michael Stahl
- Saved by the Bell: The College Years (1993) As Himself
- SeaQuest DSV (1993-1996) as Lucas Wolenczak
- Dumb and Dumber (1994) as Nick (uncredited)
- Aladdin: The Series (1994-1995) as Mozenrath
- Ride with the Devil (1999) as Cave Wyat
- Hart's War (2002) as Lewis P. Wakely (Deleted Role)
- Bad Girls From Valley High (2005) as Dave (Posthumous Credit)
Tropes
- Former Child Star: A tragic case.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: His bright turquoise blue eyes made him stand out from the crowd.
- '90s Hair: His middle-parted hairstyle was iconic of that decade's style, to the point where his picture is on the Wikipedia article for "curtained hair"
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