Buddy Duress' life of crime before drug death aged 38: Robert Pattinson co-star was set for huge career but was repeatedly sent to Rikers Island on drugs charges before deadly OD

Bursting onto the scene as a frequent collaborator to the Safdie Brothers, Buddy Duress was considered by some as 'the future of acting'.  

Duress, whose November 2023 dead of cardiac arrest arrest following a 'drug cocktail' was announced Tuesday, starred in the filmmaker siblings' 'Good Time' alongside Robert Pattinson

Despite other appearances in their 2014 flick 'Heaven Knows What' and receiving critical praise for his acting, the 38-year-old was constantly mired in legal trouble.

He had managed to land the role in 'Heaven Knows What' after he met Josh Safdie while on release from Rikers Island on drug charges in 2013.

The unlikely star, born Michael Stathis, had been a drug addict and prolific shoplifter, having been in and out of the infamous jail eight or so times before he had turned 21.

His brother Christopher Stathis confirmed the death of the 38-year-old to People, saying the actor died in November of last year. 

Duress, who co-starred alongside Robert Pattinson in 'Good Time', died due to a 'cardiac arrest from a drug cocktail'

His brother Christopher Stathis confirmed the death of the 38-year-old to People , saying the actor died in November of last year

The journey to his short lived career in acting started after he was arrested for heroin possession and decided to join a drug rehab program as opposed to incarceration.

Duress previously recounted to SSense in 2017 how, 'it was either 8 to months in the program or 2 years in prison'. 

After taking the option of the program, Duress was waiting to be transferred to the rehab facility when he managed to slip custody and went on the lam for a year. 

Duress recalled: 'When I was sitting there I already knew I wasn’t going to go. I waited an hour and a half for the escort who never showed, and then I just left and got a random person on the subway to swipe me. 

'I went straight home, took a shower and shaved, told my mom what was happening and how I was gonna go on the run for as long as possible. 

'In my head it was like, as long as I can, I’m gonna be on the on the run and enjoy summer, and evade the authorities. And when they catch me, I’ll take it like a man.'

Duress said he had slipped custody on August 2, 2013, and authorities eventually caught up with him on August 1, 2014, following 364 days on the run. 

The 38-year-old shot to fame for his role in the Safdie Brothers 'Good Time' alongside Robert Pattinson 

He made his acting debut in Josh and Benny Safdie's 2014 film Heaven Knows What — a role he landed shortly after being released from Rikers Island for a drug-related conviction; seen with co-star Arielle Holmes in a 2014 still from the film

Rikers Island seen from the NYC Ferry on September 13, 2023 in New York City

It was during this period that he was introduced to Josh Safdie who asked him if he wanted to play a part in his next movie.

This part when on to become a much larger role in 'Heaven Knows What', with Duress telling the New York Post that the brothers warned him not to get arrested for fear it would 'f*** up the movie'. 

Duress told the outlet: 'Josh said, "Buddy, please don’t get arrested. It will f*** up the movie". 

'Everybody knew I would get arrested at some point, but I gave him my word that I would finish the movie.'

Just one day after he completed his work on 'Heaven Knows What', the authorities caught up with him, but he recalled being too happy to care. 

He told the post: 'I sat in jail saying "I did a movie!". If I went into the program, I probably would have got out, relapsed and done the same s*** all over again.

'My wrong decision resulted in the most positive thing I've ever done.'

While the rest of the cast and crew enjoyed the red carpet when the movie premiered at the New York Film Festival in 2014, Duress remained in Rikers.

Duress attends Build series to discuss "Good Time" at Build Studio on August 10, 2017 in New York City 

He is survived by his mother Jo-Anne and younger brother Christopher; seen with Pattinson at the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival in 2017

The Safdie brothers stuck by Duress, who even recommend him to director Dustin Guy Defa, who cast him in his 2017 film 'Person to Person' alongside Michael Cera.

Defa offered Duress the part while incarcerated, telling him to refuse haircuts for the role, which led to him having a stint in solitary for refusing to lose his hair. 

Days after Good Time was released in 2017, Duress told the Post: 'I used to steal anything that wasn’t nailed down. No more, though. I won’t even steal a candy bar.

'No more drugs, no more partying. That s**t is for the birds. This is the time for me to stay focused, do what I got to do and man up.'

Despite this, in 2019, he was arrested on charges of grand larceny in the third degree days after he wrapped filming on 'Flinch' and went back to Rikers.

He was also arrested for threatening to burn his mother Jo-Anne's house down that same year, while filming crime drama 'Flinch'.

He was bailed out by director Cameron Van Hoy and his mom, but later arrested and taken back to Rikers for charges of menacing and criminal possession of brass knuckles and a controlled substance.

He had a long history of legal troubles, having been in jail at least 10 times with charges including identity theft, grand larceny, and heroin possession; seen in 2014 

Duress was then back in the prison after his mother turned him in for allegedly stealing checks and forging her signature with cash totaling over $3,000. 

His mother Jo-Anne previously told The Post: 'I couldn’t take it. He would call in the middle of the night and ask [for] money. It was for drugs.'

Jo-Anne would go on to take a order of protection against him after threatening to burn her house down. Duress said: 'I don't blame her. I'm not easy to live with.'

In November of 2019, Duress was found in a critical condition after he fell from an elevated subway platform after robbing a Santander Bank in Queens.

News reports at the time say he stole $3,055 from the bank after sliding a note to the teller which said 'My mom is sick. Need money for my mom, it’s going to be quick'. 

During his escape, Duress hid in an elevated subway station to evade cops and was eventually chased down the platform. 

Duress attempted to escape by climbing down a support pole, but lost his grip and fell onto the sidewalk below. 

Speaking from inside Rikers to Van Hoy in 2021, Duress said: 'I got locked up for a robbery, they are saying I robbed a bank - I don't remember any of this.

'I guess I was in a black out, I also had head injuries because I fell from the elevated platform down to the street. 

'They said I was running from the cops up there and I was trying to climb down some kind of pole, and I fell three stories. 

'I woke up cuffed to the bed in hospital, I am lucky to be alive. I was in the hospital for six weeks. I had a cast on both legs, I fractured both knees as well as my skull.'

Despite his legal issues while filming the movie, Flinch Van Hoy had nothing but praise for the star.

'Buddy was pure electricity on screen. Working with him was one of the great adventures of my life,' he told People.

'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.'

Director Jay Karales, with whom he filmed Mass State Lottery, called him 'a once in a lifetime charismatic actor and a genuinely humble man that left an impression on everyone he met' in a statement to People.

He called his death a 'tragic and frustrating loss of visceral talent' adding, 'He lived like a cowboy and carrying the weight of that kind of life informed his skills and performances in a way that made him irreplaceable as an actor.'

Jay also shared a tribute to him on Instagram, writing: 'This man was an absolute treasure. Without a doubt, Buddy was one of the most entertaining people I've ever met and his stories were unrivaled.'

'I remember seeing him in Good Time in 2017 and saying, "That is what the future of acting needs to be. That guy." 

'He brought a certain authenticity and charisma to the screen that you just don't see anymore. It was a dream to get him in Mass State Lottery, and I feel privileged to have been his director and his friend.'