Bella Thorne is mourning the loss of her “little bro” Cameron Boyce after the Descendants actor died suddenly in his sleep on Saturday at the age of 20. Boyce had starred alongside Thorne in the 2011 Disney Channel series Shake It Up, marking one of his earliest credited roles.
“They take them from us so soon,” Thorne wrote on Twitter. “I love u little bro [you] cute little weirdo. So weird [you’re] gone…now there’s just emptiness.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Although Thorne and Boyce rarely starred alongside one another, he was credited as a Lil Highlighter Dancer in the 2011 episode “Throw It Up” of Shake It Up, a series in which Thorne starred as CeCe Jones.
The role marked one of Boyce’s first and came just as he was launched into fame after landing the role of Luke Ross in Jessie, a role he held from 2011 until 2015. Boyce also starred Conor in Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything and played Carlos in Disney’s Descendants movies as well as starred in Adam Sandler’s Grown Ups.
Boyce died late Saturday in his life after suffering a seizure as a result of epilepsy. He was “found unresponsive in his home” and pronounced dead on the scene after authorities were called.
“It is with a profoundly heavy heart that we report that this morning we lost Cameron,” his family announced the tragic news in a statement. “He passed away in his sleep due to a seizure which was a result of an ongoing medical condition for which he was being treated. The world is now undoubtedly without one of its brightest lights, but his spirit will live on through the kindness and compassion of all who knew and loved him.”
Best known for his role as Cruella de Vil’s son in the Descendants TV movies, news of his death rattled social media, with many of Boyce’s co-stars and fans paying their respects online.
Remembering him in an emotional post, Descendants director Kenny Ortega wrote that Boyce “brought Love, Laughter and Compassion with him everyday I was in his presence. His talent, immeasurable. His kindness and generosity, overflowing. It has been an indescribable honor and pleasure to know and work with him.”
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner confirmed that Boyce’s autopsy had been performed on Monday, though a cause of death has not yet been determined and has been deferred pending “further investigation.”
Boyce will next be seen in Descendants 3, which is scheduled to air on the Disney Channel on Aug. 2.
