Former Child Actor Blake Garrett, Known for How to Eat Fried Worms, Dies at 33

Blake Garrett, the former child actor best remembered for his role in the 2006 family film How to Eat Fried Worms, has died at 33, his family said.

Garrett’s death was confirmed by his mother, Carol Garrett, who told TMZ that her son died on Sunday. She said he had gone to the emergency room the previous week after experiencing severe pain and was diagnosed with shingles.

Carol Garrett explained that she believes her son may have attempted to self-medicate while dealing with the illness and that his death could have been accidental. No additional medical details or an official cause of death have been publicly released.

Born in Texas, Garrett had been living in Oklahoma for the past three years, where his mother said he had been sober and doing well. She described him as being in a good place in his life, focused on staying healthy and grounded.

Garrett rose to national recognition as a child actor in How to Eat Fried Worms, a film adaptation of the popular 1973 children’s book. The movie followed a young boy who accepts a bizarre challenge to eat 15 worms in 15 days, quickly becoming a cult favorite among young audiences in the mid-2000s.

In the film, Garrett played Plug, a supporting character aligned with the story’s schoolyard bullies. Despite the role, he later recalled that the set atmosphere was friendly and collaborative.

The cast included well-known actors such as Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Clint Howard, Andrea Martin, Tom Cavanagh, and James Rebhorn, as well as several young performers, including Hallie Eisenberg. In 2007, the ensemble received a Young Artist Award for Best Young Ensemble in a Feature Film.

Before his appearance in How to Eat Fried Worms, Garrett had already built early performance experience touring with Barney the Purple Dinosaur. He appeared in Barney’s Colorful World, Live! in 2004, giving him national stage exposure at a young age.

He was also active in local theater productions, performing in stage shows such as Peanuts: A Charlie Brown Tribute and Aladdin and His Magical Lamp. Those close to him said he loved performing but did not pursue acting as an adult.

In a 2006 interview with The Oklahoman, Garrett spoke fondly about his time working on How to Eat Fried Worms. He described one memorable scene involving bicycles and gravel roads, recalling how a spontaneous slide sent gravel flying into a camera lens. The filmmakers loved the unexpected moment and kept it in the final cut.

How to Eat Fried Worms ultimately became Garrett’s final film role. He stepped away from acting shortly afterward, but the movie continued to resonate with fans who grew up watching it.

While his time in the spotlight was brief, Garrett’s performance left a lasting impression on a generation of viewers who remembered the film as a staple of early-2000s family cinema.