Raised by his paternal grandmother in Knoxville, TN

Acted in school productions sponsored by DARE; a program that deals with the dangers of drugs

Feature debut, a starring role as a young targeted witness, in Joel Schumacher's "The Client"

Played the neighborhood toughguy who befriends a stigmatized HIV-positive youngster in "The Cure"

Played Huckleberry Finn opposite Jonathan Taylor Thomas' Tom Sawyer in Disney's "Tom and Huck"

Portrayed Brad Pitt's character as a teenager in the gritty drama "Sleepers"

Played a teenage boy embroiled in the 1960s radio payola scandal in Guy Ferland's "Telling Lies in America"

Starred as a high school student obsessively fasinated with Nazism in Bryan Singer's "Apt Pupil"

Acted alongside Jennifer Jason Leigh in the 1960s-set coming of age drama "Skipped Parts"

Had leading role of a troubled Florida teen who turns on his abusive friend in Larry Clark's "Bully"; based on the 1993 murder of Bobby Kent and adapted from the book Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge

Co-starred with Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson in Terry Zwigoff's "Ghost World"

Cast in the psychological thriller "The Jacket"

Starred in "10th and Wolf" an indie film based on a story by Bobby Moresco and Chazz Palminteri

Appeared in final film, "The Informers"; based on the Bret Easton Ellis novel (released posthumously)