Child stars to Adult Stars

Who in your opinion has succeeded best in crossing over from the CHILD PRODIGY to hollywood player? And who has failed miserably in your opinion?

My two cents - Kirsten Dunst has done well, Anna Paquin has not.

The ones to look out for would obviously be Haley Joel Osment and the new kid from Signs.

McCauley Kulkin would seem to be an obvious choice for failure but I recently saw him in a theatre production here in London and he is very, very, very GOOD! I was blown away.

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Mr. Fenster....

Well, the theater is another venue...a whole other world of acting...so I wouldn't count that as a successful crossover. Paquin's in the air...she's got the X-Men franchise going for her now, which could springboard her towards bigger things.

I'd say Kirsten Dunst and Christina Ricci have both made the switch rather gracefully. I have no idea how Osment will fare, but I think he's got a decent shot to keep his head above water past puberty.

I think the only two youngsters of this latest generation to really distinguish themselves as they hit their twenties thus far in manistream fare are Christina Ricci (twenty-two) and Reese Witherspoon (twenty-six). Both have turned into very good young actresses capable of a range of roles. Look at Buffalo '66, The Opposite of Sex, Freeway, Pleasantville and Election. That's all good work, and they're talent is maturing and refining all the time.

Though she hasn't hit it "big" in the States yet, I'd make special mention of Sarah Polley (twenty-three). She starred in Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Muchausen as a tyke, but she's turned into a beautiful young woman and a heck of an actress. Go is the highest-profile project she's appeared in for most, but she's a star of the Candian film world, with amazing performances in The Sweet Hereafter, Guinevere, Exotica and The Claim. She's a big favorite of mine, and I think the sky's the limit for her.

Anna Paquin is definitely someone to watch. Don't judge by something fluffy like X-Men, look at Hurlyburly, Almost Famous and Finding Forrster. She's definitely got talent and is blossoming into a woman.

Kirsten Dunst may or may not be on that road to adult success, though you can't tell from candy like Spider-Man. Her recent performance in Bogdanovich's The Cat's Meow was a positive step in the right direction, but she hasn't been challenged much as of yet. She's also just barely twenty. Check back in on her in a few years.

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The first time I saw her, was in a Disney mini series I watched on the Disney Channel every chance I could. My sisters and I were addicted to it. It was based on the Anne of Green Gables books, although...I can't remember what the series was called. I was to say, Anne of Avonley or something of that nature...
Anyhoo...she was "big" to me way before Go.

Hmm, well, I suppose. But was she really a child "star"? Seems to me she was basically all grown-up when she first gained any real fame.

Love that flick.

Fluffy?

Methinks she'll be one of the biggest actresses in Hollywood by then.

Reese was only fifteen when she made her impressive debut in the very good (if straight forward) coming-of-age flick The Man in the Moon (1991), followed by the TV-movie Wildflower (1991) and the live-action Disney flick A Far Off Place (1993). And although she was a young teenager - if you want to consider that "all grown up" somehow, she hardly looked fifteen and sixteen, she could easily have played twelve since she was so teeny physically. I don't know what you consider "any real fame", but she was the star of all three of those projects. If you don't think she was noticed by in large by People Magazine or whoever until Fear or even Pleasantville, that has nothing to do with the fact that she clearly started her career as a child actress playing child roles. Just because she didn't have a mainstream breakthrough hit like The Addams Family to her credit hardly means she was all grown up. Election didn't happen overnight of course.


And yes, of course a superhero movie is fluffy compared to a straight ahead drama with layers of subtext not reliant on special effects and genre characters. X-Men is better than most superhero movies, with an attempt at a real emotional core - especially with the Rogue character as conceived by Bryan Singer and co., but surely you can see the difference between say Halle Barry's work in X-Men and in Monster's Ball, yes? That's the kind of difference in difficulty level I'm anticipating Anna Paquin tackling in the next couple years. I suspect she'll be up to the challenge.


As for Kirsten Dunst, we'll have to see what kinds of projects she chooses. If Spider-Man 2, 3 and 4 or Get Over It Again are the only kinds of acting challenges she's going to give herself, she may be famous to a degree, but she won't be much of an actress. The fact that her next two projects put her along side the likes of Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris, Billy Bob Thronton, Anjelica Huston and Holy Hunter bodes well for her. Becuase of her profile being raised by the commercial success of Spider-Man, she's going to get some opportunities in the next year or so to work with some good people and more serious material. How she chooses between that and the enormous piles of crud that will also be heaped upon her at the same time will determine the next phase of her career.

Time of course will tell in all things.

Nope, fifteen/sixteen is not "all grown up," however this thread is about Child stars, so I guess her qualification (or lack thereof) for inclusion here is dependent on what you consider a child "star" to be. Obviously any role whatsoever does not make a person a child star...just a child actor.

Berry was a bit of an exception...she sleptwalk through that flick. Apart from a character here or there, I consider it a "legitimate" movie, acting-wise, if you catch my drift. I suppose if you want to compare it to some films on the absolute opposite end of the spectrum in some ways, you might find "fluffy" to be a fitting adjective, but personally it's not how I'd choose to describe it.

Perhaps it's just me, but I get the odd feeling that she alternatives between commercially viable films, and genuine challenges. I do recall reading that, in an interview, she expressed significant distaste for the "teen flicks" she had begun to be typecast for...so if I had to guess, I'd say she's definitely pointed in the right direction, Spider-Man notwithstanding.

I'd like to add, however, that a second Spidey flick may very well provide her with an opportunity to flex her range a bit. The character of Mary Jane isn't a completely boring or shallow one, and a Spider-Man movie without the tedious burden of introduction may well be able to explore her character. I guess we'll know in, oh, two years or so, whether or not they deliver.

I agree with Christina Ricci. She just amazes me... I loved her as little Wednesday in The Addams Family and then she goes onto movies like The Opposite of Sex and other more mature movies. She has that *something*.

What about Thora Birch? Isn't she still doing good? I remember her in Hocus Pocus, and then she's onto American Beauty, and wasn't she the girl in Ghost World?

You know who I would love to get rid of off the face of the planet? Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen! Oh my god, I am so sick of their stupid movies coming out straight to video, and I hate their books and their own stupid magazine! Why can't they both get separated in different parts of the world so they'll never find each other again so there won't be any more of this nonsense! What are they supposed to do now that they're getting old? Porno?? Or hundreds of videos featuring Mary Kate and Ashley as twin sisters who have adult adventures like bad dates, being single, getting married, having kids, getting divorced, getting remarried, having a husband die, getting old together, going to a rest home? GOD, I HOPE THEIR KIDS DON'T FOLLOW THEIR BUSINESS.

Two Words...

Jodie Foster.

Yeah, obviously Jodie Foster and Ron Howard are the two prime examples of the generation that came of age in the 1970s, both have flourished as grown-ups (though Ronnie behind the camera naturally). But from the tenor of the first post I think it's fairly clear the poster was looking for child stars of today, or at least the 1990s, who have a chance of making a successful transition to adult star in the near future or have done so in the past few years (or conversely those who haven't done so or have little chance), not a list of those who have already made it years ago.

If you want to go back generations before Jodie Foster & Ronnie Howard even, Natalie Wood, Jackie Cooper, Jackie Coogan and Jeanne-Pierre Leaud all made the transition from child star to adult stars.

But oh yeah, Jodie Foster is perhaps the one true shining success story of child actor made good. Unfortunately there are three dozen outright horror stories to counterbalance that one example. Anyway, the folks at the "E! True Hollywood Story" couldn't be happier about that percentage.

I think that Thora Birch, right now at least [she's got to avoid doing something like Dungeons and Dragons ever, ever again...ever!] is a fairly nice example. Can you believe that she was the little girl in Monkey Business? I had no idea until just the other day and now, as Jason says, she's the young woman appearing in American Beauty and in Ghost World. Surely she's taking some steps in the right direction.

Although, like everyone else, I'll argue that Jodie Foster is the ultimate example and Christina Ricci the modern/1990's example.

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Yeah Thora Birch is a gem. Loved her in Ghost world. I also think that Thora may have played Jack Ryan's daughter in the Harrison Ford blockies Patriot Games and Clear & Present Danger. She was very young. Can't be sure on that though...someone else may want to confirm.

As for child stars - I guess Leo DiCaprio should get a guernsey. Personally he annoys the crap outta me but he has been acting since he was a little tacker and the potential is definitely there for great things even if some of his choices have been woeful. He was great in Gilbert Grape.

Yes indeedy. Did a fine job, too, though the role was small.

I would have to say the little pigtail girl in E.T. oh what is her name, she was in a sh*t load of movies following that.....ah yes
Drew Barrymore!! she has grown up a lot, and though she follows her family in acting and the problem with drinking i think she did an excellent job in transforming.
Mac(home alone kid) he is just now coming out with some movie after almost 10 years of not acting, i really never liked him, he was too annoying.
Kirsten Dunst, she has come a long way from Interview with the Vampire, she was like 12 or something when she did that movie, and now she is in one of the summer's hotteset movies "Spiderman"
Christina Ricci, good old wednesday adams with the headless doll, she kept to that character, she fit the character too. I don't really hear of her in the big movies too much.
Jennifer love hewitt really didn't become big until "I know what you did last summer" at least that is the earliest i can remeber
She was in some movie when she was "love hewitt"
Damn i could go on, but i won't

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Altough I don't know if he qualifies as a former child prodigy, I'd say that Christian Bale has made the transfer rather well. He was in Spielberg's Empire of the Sun as a kid, and he also played the part of Yum Yum in the Swedish-English-USSR production Mio min Mio

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He was the kid in Empire of the sun? I have suddenly gained much more respect for him.

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Christain Bale also had a small role in Kenny Branagh's Henry V (1989) when he was just a lad. But yes, Empire of the Sun was his big claim to fame.

Elijah Wood seems to be travelling along nicely...he's gone from adorable child (The Good Son, The War etc) to gawky adolescent (The Ice Storm & Deep Impact) and now he's emerging as a confident young actor in more adult roles like Black & White and obviously LOTR. It will be really interesting to see where his appeal lies as he gets a bit older and what kind of roles he will take on.

A big thumbs up also to whoever mentioned Christian Bale - he's wonderful.

Drew Barrymore is definitely a good example of a child star who's matured well. She's no virtuoso, but she's a solid actress, and now has a flourishing production company.

And, of course, there's always River Phoenix. Tragic and utterly stupid end aside, he was a great actor, and had unlimited potential. It's a bit strange to think that I'm the same age as he was when he died--it'll be nine years ago in October.

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I don't think Elija was ever "gawky". It always seemed to me that he was one of those lucky few that matured gracefully, despite being in the public eye. Not like, Alyissa Milano, or something...now THAT'S gawky! Keep in mind, these child stars have to endure the pages of Teen Beat and the like. **whew** tough racket.