10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

For me (off the top of my head and in no particular order):



Natalie Wood in MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET

Patty Duke in THE MIRACLE WORKER

Patty McCormack in THE BAD SEED

Tatum O'Neal in PAPER MOON

Jackie Cooper in THE CHAMP

Justin Henry in KRAMER VS KRAMER

Claude Jarman Jr. in THE YEARLING

Margaret O'Brien in MEET ME IN ST LOUIS

Macauley Culkin in HOME ALONE

Natalie Portman in LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

Tom holland deserves mention in The Impossible.

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

All of them are Erika Bok:
http://www.dailyplastic.com/wp-conte...ngo-tracks.jpg

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

Doug McKeon in On Golden Pond,perfect foil for Henry Fonda.

Thanks for reminding me about McKeon in ON GOLDEN POND. He was very good and would be in my second 10.

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

Not mentioned:
Martin Stephens and Pamela Franklin in The Innocents
Henry Thomas in E.T.
Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense
Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit (2010)
River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman & Jerry O'Connell in Stand by Me
Christian Bale in Empire of the Sun
Jean-Pierre Leaud in The 400 Blows
Kåre Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson in Let the Right One In
Corey Haim in Lucas

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

I couldn’t think of ten but my favorites are:

Natalie Portman in Leon the Professional
Edward Furlong in Terminator 2
Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense
Nathan Gamble in The Dark Knight
Bradley Pierce as the voice of Chip in Beauty and the Beast
Mara Wilson in Mrs. Doubtfire

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

Dai (David) Bradley - Billy Casper in Kes
Danny Lloyd - Danny Torrence in The Shining
Thomas Turgoose - Shaun in This Is England
Mary Badam - Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird
Ivana Baquero - Ofelia in Pan's Labyrinth
Enzo Staiola - Bruno Ricci in Bicycle Thieves
Jodie Foster - Iris in Taxi Driver

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

Chloe Moretz - Kickass (Rude)
Shirley Temple - Heidi (Cute)
Heather O'Rourke - Poltergeist (Creepy)

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

The boy in A Perfect World.

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...hiveposter.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...%2C_poster.jpg


Ana Torrent, she's amazing in the two films above.

Abigail Breslin - Signs, Little Miss Sunshine
Dakota Fanning - Man on Fire, I Am Sam

Loved Breslin in LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE...can't stand Dakota Fanning.

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

The girl in The Birds. Epic performance. (sarcasm)

Actually, children usually perform very badly and a mediocre performance by a child actor is considered a major feat.

These

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

http://www.chud.com/wp-content/uploa...11d_medium.jpg

The G.O.A.T

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

Jodie Foster in TAXI DRIVER is my Best Supporting Actress of 1976. Also nice to see some love for Furlong in TERMINATOR 2 and Mara Wilson in MRS. DOUBTFIRE.

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

Loved Furlong in TERMINATOR II: JUDGMENT DAY.

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

Actually, the girl in THE BIRDS, Veronica Cartwright, grew up to be an excellent actress.

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

I liked the kid in The Hours

http://kategale.files.wordpress.com/..._hours_014.jpg

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

I really enjoyed Luc Roeg in Walkabout.

http://www.soundonsight.org/wp-conte...=90&w=630&zc=1

Actually, children usually perform very badly and a mediocre performance by a child actor is considered a major feat.[/quote]


Seriously? I'm curious as to how many of the performances mentioned on this thread that you've seen because I find it hard to believe there isn't a single performance by a child that genuinely impressed you.

The Japanese director Koreeda gets brilliantly natural performances from kids in his films. Have a look at Nobody Knows and I Wish. There's another one of his called Like Father Like Son I haven't seen yet that features a couple of youngsters too, that has got good reviews.

The kid I love in a film is the little lad in Kitano's Kikujiro, he's great!

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

1. Natalie Portman - Léon The Professional
2. (empty)
3. (empty)
4. Abigail Breslin - Little Miss Sunshine
5. Jodi Foster - Taxi Driver
6. Haley Joel Osment - The Sixth Sense
7. Dakota Fanning - I Am Sam
8. Kirsten Dunst - Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles
9. Adi Stein - Stolen Summer
10. Jonathan Lipnicki - Jerry Maguire

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

Couldn't think of 10 but here's a some

1. Keisha Castle-Hughes in Whale Rider
2. Tatum O’Neal in Paper Moon
3. Hailee Steinfeld True Grit
4. Lina Leandersson in Let the Right One In
5. Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine
6. Ivana Paquero in Pan’s Labryrinth
7. Haley Joel Osment in Sixth Sense
8. Fred Savage in The Boy Who Could Fly

^ These x 10

I'm using fifteen as my cut-off for "child", and I'll name fifteen of my favorites, too...

1. Jean-Pierre Leaud, The 400 Blows (1959 - age fifteen)
2. Jodie Foster, Taxi Driver (1976, age fourteen)
3. Ana Torrent, Spirit of the Beehive (1973 - age seven)
4. Tatum O'Neal, Paper Moon (1971 - age ten)
5. T.J. Lowther, A Perfect World (1993 - age seven)
6. Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit (2010 - age fourteen)
7. Natalie Wood, Miracle on 34th Street (1947 - age nine)
8. Natalie Portman, Léon: The Professional (1994 - age thirteen)
9. Everlyn Sampi, Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002 - age thirteen)
10. Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward, Moonrise Kingdom (2012 - ages fourteen and thirteen)
11. Justin Henry, Kramer vs. Kramer (1979 - age eight)
12. Christian Bale, Empire of the Sun (1988 - age thirteen)
13. Sean Nelson, Fresh (1994 - age fourteen)
14. Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine (2006 - age ten)
15. Giuseppe Cristiano, I'm Not Scared (2003 - age twelve)

http://www.movieforums.com/community...1&d=1395846361

In order of movie quality rather than performance. Actors under 18:

1. Taungoroa Emile & Mamaengoroa Kerr-Bell - Once Were Warriors (1994)
2. Jodie Foster - Taxi Driver (1976)
3. Bertil Guve & Pernilla Allwin - Fanny & Alexander (1982)
4. Koki & Oshiro Maeda - I Wish (2011)
5. Aleksei Kravchenko - Come & See (1985)
6. Michalis Zeke & Tania Palaiologu - Landscape in the Mist (1988)
7. Subir Banerjee - Pather Panchali (1955)
8. Jonathan Chang - Yi Yi (2000)
9. Tomio Aoki & Hideo Sugiwara - I Was Born, But ... (1932)
10. Giorgio Cantarini - Life is Beautiful (1997)

Re: 10 Best Performances by a Child Actor/Actress
 

1.Edward Norton - Primal Fear
2.Edward Furlong - American History X
3.Danny Lloyd - The Shining
4.Christian Bale - Empire of Sun
5.Jodie Foster - Taxi Driver
6.Johnny Depp - A Nightmare on Elm Street
7.Nathalie Portman - Léon
8.Edward Furlong - Terminator 2
9.Ivana Baquero - Pan's Labyrinth
10.Kare Hedebrant - Let The Right One In