Buddy Duress, known for his role alongside Robert Pattinson in the Safdie brothers’ 2017 crime thriller Good Time, has passed away. Originally named Michael C. Stathis, Buddy was 38.
Duress’ brother Christopher Stathis disclosed to People on Tuesday that the actor passed away in November 2023 due to “cardiac arrest from a drug cocktail.”
Duress was born in Queens, New York, in May 1985. He made his acting debut in the 2014 film Heaven Knows What by Josh and Benny Safdie.
In Good Time, Buddy Duress played the role of Ray. He’s a drug dealer who partners with Connie Nikas (played by Pattinson) to retrieve a Sprite bottle containing acid.
During a 2017 interview with SSense, Duress revealed that he met Josh Safdie in 2013 after his release from Rikers Island in New York City on drug charges. Duress, who had evaded a drug in-patient program, connected with Josh through a mutual friend and secured a role in Heaven Knows What.
However, he was captured by police, returning to Rikers Island after the movie’s completion. He remained in prison during the film’s premiere at the New York Film Festival in 2014. After his release, the filmmakers had Duress journal his prison experience. They then incorporated it into the script for Good Time.
In addition to his work on Heaven Knows What and Good Time, Buddy Duress has contributed to projects such as Person to Person (2017), The Great Darkened Days (2018), Beware of Dog (2020), PVT Chat (2020), Flinch (2021), and Funny Pages (2022).
Director Jay Karales Called Buddy Duress’ Performance in ‘Good Time’ the ‘Future of Acting’
Duress has two upcoming projects yet to be released. One is a short film named “Skull”. The second project is Jay Karales’ first feature film Mass State Lottery, scheduled for release this year.
Director-writer Karales, known professionally as LowRes Wünderbred, paid tribute to Duress on X (formerly Twitter). “This man was an absolute treasure,” he wrote. “Without a doubt, Buddy Duress 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,” Karales continued. “It was a dream to get him in Mass State Lottery, and I feel privileged to have been his director and his friend.”
Duress is survived by his younger brother, Christopher, and his mother, Jo-Anne.