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

Tom holland deserves mention in The Impossible.

All of them are Erika Bok:

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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.

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

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My IMDb page

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

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

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

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The boy in A Perfect World.

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

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

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

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

The G.O.A.T

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.

Loved Furlong in TERMINATOR II: JUDGMENT DAY.

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

I liked the kid in The Hours