In a tragic twist of fate, Larson passed away, aged 35, from an aortic aneurysm on the morning of Rent’s first off-Broadway preview show. 'You know, seeing Ronald Reagan not mentioning, not saying Aids for however long, however many years and the damage that does… Jon felt it all as the sensitive artist that he was and it was all that pain and anguish and suffering that created one of the great musical works of the last century, which is Rent.' “ was so community-minded, and he felt such alignment to the periphery of the culture, the groups and the people that were not included, supported, loved in the way that is everyone’s birthright', Garfield muses.
Netflix’s absolute lung-buster of a movie – also starring Alexandra Shipp ( Love, Simon), MJ Rodriguez ( Pose) and Robin de Jesús ( The Boys in the Band) – tells the story of Larson who, on the cusp of his 30th birthday, is racing against the clock to prepare for a workshop of his latest work, all the while wrestling with crippling debt, an increasingly strained relationship with his girlfriend (Shipp) and, most pressingly, the creeping devastation of the Aids crisis on his circle of friends. Andrew Garfield for the Attitude December issue (Photography: Brian Bowen Smith)
