Canadian actor Spencer Lofranco, who starred opposite John Travolta in the 2018 mobster biopic Gotti, has died at the age of 33.
Lofranco died Tuesday, his older brother, Santino, announced via Instagram.
“To the legend @roccowinning. My brother. You lived a life only some could dream of. You changed people lives [sic], and now you are with God. I will always love you and miss you Bear,” he wrote Thursday, alongside a series of childhood photos of the two of them as well as recent pictures of Lofranco.
While additional details about his death are currently unknown, TMZ reports that an ongoing investigation is being conducted in British Columbia, Canada.
The Independent has contacted Lofranco’s representative for additional information.
Born in 1992 in Toronto to a lawyer father and an opera singer mother, Lofranco attended Robert Land Academy military school for high school.
He made his film debut in the 2014 indie romcom At Middleton, starring as Conrad Hartman, alongside sisters Vera and Taissa Farmiga and Andy Garcia.
That same year, he led the crime drama Jamesy Boy. The film, from director Trevor White, also featured James Wood, Ving Rhames and Mary-Louise Parker. Lofranco also appeared in Angelina Jolie’s war drama Unbroken, an adaptation of Laura Hillenbrand’s affecting biography about World War II veteran and Olympic runner Louis Zamperini.
Speaking to Interview magazine in 2014, he said his ambitions to become an actor began when he was 17. “I was always [a] funny guy, always trying to make people laugh and always the center of attention. I guess I was being an actor my whole life,” he said.
“I finally realized what I was doing and it was just getting me in trouble. I went to summer acting classes. Then I did a year conservatory at New York Film Academy and then that’s when I got Jamesy Boy.”
He revealed that his acting career went against his father’s wishes for him to become a professional hockey player and a lawyer.
In 2013, the year before his film debut, Lofranco was involved in a hit-and-run. While driving his SUV, he struck a cyclist. The biker sustained severe injuries, including a broken hip and multiple fractures, according to CBS News. Authorities stated that the actor initially got out of his car to check on the victim and apologize before he left the scene without providing any further assistance.
Lofranco was convicted of a misdemeanor hit and run and sentenced to 50 days of community service, in addition to two years’ probation and $161,000 in restitution.
He was perhaps best known for his final screen credit as John Gotti Jr., the son of real-life New York City mobster John Gotti, portrayed by Travolta in the film Gotti.
Lofranco appeared to have stepped away from acting after Gotti. In his final Instagram post shared November 11, he directed followers to subscribe to his OnlyFans channel.
“I’m getting my face tattoo burned out,” he captioned a black-and-white shirtless selfie. “Period the best is yet to come. The hair is on it way it’s got held up customs. Crazy.”
