Unfortunately, his career didn’t maintain the same steady drive going into the 2000s, and Brandis reportedly got depressed about his downward career slope, which wasn’t helped along by his role in 2002’s Hart’s War getting mostly excised.
In November 2003, Brandis died from injuries sustained after he tried hanging himself in his apartment building’s hallway.
Jonathan Brandis’ career saw an uptick after IT, too.
He starred in the features Ladybugs with Rodney Dangerfield and Sidekicks with Chuck Norris, and eventually cemented his teen heartthrob status with a regular role on seaQuest DSV.