Michael Constantine Stathis (May 21, 1985 – November 2023), known by his screen name Buddy Duress, was an American actor best known for his roles in the

Safdie brothers Josh Safdie, Joshua Henry Safdie (born April 3, 1984) and Benny Safdie, Benjamin Safdie (born February 24, 1986) are independent American filmmakers and actors based in New York City, who frequently collaborate on their films. They are best know ...

films ''

Heaven Knows What ''Heaven Knows What'' is a 2014 psychological drama film directed by Ben and Joshua Safdie and written by Ronald Bronstein and Joshua Safdie. The film stars Arielle Holmes, Buddy Duress, Ron Braunstein, Eleonore Hendricks, Caleb Landry J ...

'' (2014) and '' Good Time'' (2017).

Early life

Duress was born Michael Constantine Stathis on May 21, 1985, in the New York City borough of

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. He was of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

descent. Following his parents' divorce, he was raised in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

by his father, but suffered physical abuse and eventually went to live with his mother and brother in Queens when he was a teenager.

Acting career

Stathis had a history of legal troubles, having been locked up in New York City's

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a prison island in the East River in the Bronx, New York (state), New York, United States, that contains New York City's largest jail. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was orig ...

at least 10 times over the course of his life, with charges including heroin possession and identity theft. In 2013, he was supposed to leave Rikers for an in-patient program for individuals with drug addiction issues, but instead fled and spent almost a year homeless, on the run from the authorities. It was during this time that he made the acquaintance of Arielle Holmes, the star of ''

'', who recommended him to

Josh Safdie Joshua Henry Safdie (born April 3, 1984) is an American filmmaker and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing the crime thriller films '' Good Time'' (2017) and ''Uncut Gems'' (2019) with his younger brother Benny Safdie as the ...

for a role in the film. He adopted the stage name Buddy Duress. He was apprehended by the police shortly after filming ended, but resumed acting following his release. Duress appeared in the

's subsequent film, '' Good Time'' (2017). He amassed several other film credits, but continued to have run-ins with the law, and was arrested multiple times in 2019; as a result, he was unable to appear in the Safdies' third film, ''

Uncut Gems ''Uncut Gems'' is a 2019 American crime thriller film directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ronald Bronstein. It stars Adam Sandler, LaKeith Stanfield, Julia Fox, Kevin Garnett, Idina Menzel, and Eric Bogosian ...

''.

Death

Duress died at his residence in

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to four other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Queens, Long Island C ...

, in November 2023, at the age of 38; ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reported that his cause of death was "cardiac arrest caused by a 'drug cocktail' including heroin". His death was publicly announced in February 2024 by ''Mass State Lottery'' director Jay Karales.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duress, Buddy 1985 births 2023 deaths 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American people convicted of drug offenses Drug-related deaths in New York City Male actors from Queens, New York People from Astoria, Queens American people of Italian descent