VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Spencer Lofranco, the Canadian actor who broke out in “Jamesy Boy” and played John Gotti Jr. in “Gotti,” has died at 33 in British Columbia days after his family reported that he had been found dead Nov. 18. His death, the cause of which was not immediately clear, is under investigation by the British Columbia Coroners Service, Nov. 22, 2025.
Provincial officials said the British Columbia Coroners Service told them Friday that it is formally reviewing the Nov. 18 death, and looking at both cause and manner, when its file is complete. The agency confirmed the investigation to the Los Angeles Times, but has not said where Lofranco died, nor has a cause of death been determined, according to celebrity site TMZ.
The death was announced earlier this week by Spencer Lofranco’s brother, Santino, in two emotional Instagram and Facebook tributes that included vintage childhood photos and listed his sibling’s dates as Oct. 18, 1992, to Nov. 18, 2025. In his message, he referred to his brother as a “legend” who “lived a life only some could dream of” and said in part, “I will always love you and miss you, Bear.”
As People magazine pointed out, Lofranco, a native of Toronto, entered the screen with 2013’s independent romance “At Middleton,” then captained the crime drama “Jamesy Boy” the year after. He also turned up in Angelina Jolie’s World War II drama “Unbroken,” the Southern crime movie “Dixieland,” the thriller “King Cobra,” and the 2018 biopic “Gotti,” bringing his total number of credited movies to seven in a short but crowded run.
In a 2014 review of “Jamesy Boy” for The Los Angeles Times, the unknown Lofranco earns credit for carrying the film, playing opposite Ving Rhames, Mary-Louise Parker, and James Woods. The acclaim indicated that the young actor was capable of handling weighty dramatic material early in his career.
Lofranco grew up with a lawyer for a father and a mother who was a dancer, opera singer, and actor, and attended military high school after struggling in traditional classrooms. He said he decided to pursue acting at 17, studied for a year at the New York Film Academy, and hoped to build a career in grounded, real-life stories.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Spencer Lofranco moved to Surrey, British Columbia, in 2021, per his Facebook page, years after his last screen credit. In recent posts, he flashed tattoos, street art, and selfies, and in a final Instagram update earlier this month, he promoted an OnlyFans account before signing off with the hopeful line, “The best is yet to come.”
Lofranco’s short career was also marred by legal problems. That August, he hit cyclist Camille Banham with his SUV in Hollywood and drove off (she was left with a broken hip and multiple fractures). A judge, after considering Banham’s plea, ordered 50 days of community service and 2 years of probation, as well as $161,000 in restitution, according to a 2015 LAist report.
By 2018, after starring as John Gotti Jr. opposite John Travolta in “Gotti,” Spencer Lofranco’s screen work abruptly came to a halt, and he never recorded another major credit. The abrupt stop was in marked contrast to the optimism he expressed a decade ago, when I asked him about his plans and he told me he wanted to choose “real-life” projects carefully and avoid decisions that might endanger a career that had once seemed promising.
Tributes have been pouring in on social media, with fans posting scenes from “Jamesy Boy,” “Unbroken,” and “Gotti” and remembering Spencer Lofranco as the actor everybody knew wouldn’t get his Real Big Shot. The authorities in British Columbia have not provided a timeline for completing their investigation, leaving Lofranco’s family and admirers to grieve a life and career cut short as they await official answers.
