Hi Film Fans,
Today I'm going to put this "Never work with Children" thing to rest. Obviously it's tongue in cheek and children being children are going to cause a few problems, but today I present to you some of the most talented and not forgetting cutest - child actors in Hollywood (within the last 30 years).
So in no particular order here goes...
1. Dakota Fanning
Dakota Fanning - potentially one of the most talented child actors in modern Hollywood. When you watch her act as a child, it's almost too believable. She is probably best known for acting in War of the Worlds in which she is very good, it's said that she still keeps in touch with Tom Cruise. I think it's the maturity that she had at the age of 11 that makes you almost forget she's just a naive kid. Now 19 she is still acting and still very professional, although now it's more sexy than cute.
Film Recommendation: Trapped - also starring Charlize Theron and Kevin Bacon.
2. Haley Joel Osment
Haley Joel Osment is mostly known as the little boy who sees dead people (sixth sense - in case you hadn't guessed), but he is also known for a variety of films and TV appearances as a cute chubby cheeked kid. Once again you can't fault his acting particularly in the film AI - I mean how can a kid act as a robot so realistically... Now 25 and looking a lot different to that butter-wouldn't-melt cutie pie, he is still in the film business but mainly sticks to voice overs.
Film Recommendation: Pay It Forward - also starring Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt.
3. Bailee Madison
Bailee Madison a very talented and potentially annoying child actress. by this i mean no offence, it's just that she's so good it's almost irritating. Alas I must control my irritation admit that this 13 year old girl is a very talented and very mature actress - with a long career ahead of her. One of her well known films is Bridge to Terabithia and although particularly young in this film you can tell she's going far. She's only 13 now, which is nice to know as the previous two seem to have grown up without us realising, she's still acting and is currently in the process of filming a new release.
Film Recommendation: Just Go With It - also starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler.
4.Macaulay Culkin
Macaulay Culkin, that little kid who was "forgotten" by his parents and had to fend off burglars
and keep his household safe. Played out like a true kid having the time off his life, despite the dangerous burglars bit - of course there is an element of fun in this film and it shows Culkin's true talent to act like a child acting like an adult. Now he is a whopping 32 - not old in general but a lot older than the picture in your head - it is rumoured that he has had problems with drugs and now is a chain smoker. Not the professional and successful star you'd have expected from such a good beginning in Hollywood.
Film Recommendation: Richie Rich - also starring Edward Herrmann &(for a small cameo) Claudia Schiffer.
5. Ellen Hamilton Latzen
Ellen Hamilton Latzen's childhood career lasted from 1987 to 1997 - but the most famous film role she had would have to be playing Michael Douglas' daughter in Fatal Attraction. She is so talented, not to mention so cute in this film it's comparable to Douglas and Close's performances in relativity to the fact that she was only 7 years old. She was so cute in that film it actually broke my heart a little - when she cried I cried. Unfortunately for us film fans she retired from acting at the age of 15 and she is now happily married and after pursuing her education she is an account executive. Apparently she's quite happy to be a "has-been".
Film Recommendation: Fatal Attraction - also starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close (I know it's an obvious one but it's a classic!)
6. Justin Cooper
I'm not really sure how well known Justin cooper is, but his most famous film must be "Dennis the Menace Strikes again" - Another one that is so cute it basically breaks my heart, the little boy and his love for his next door neighbour. Very talented and nominated for a TV award at a young age - who wouldn't want to work with this kid?! Apparently in his spare time he enjoys karate and he also has a huge Elvis Presley collection.
His last acting role was in a TV show in 2003.
Film Recommendation: Dennis the Menace strikes again - if you haven't seen it watch it just for the cute kid.
7. Mara Wilson
Probably known mostly as the clever little girl from Matilda with cool powers we all wish(ed) we had. A very good actress and a clear talent. Her cutest role has to be as Robin William's daughter in Mrs Doubtfire. The children are a very important part of this film, as you will know if you've seen it. Of course there has to be a token innocent child that's not exactly sure what's going on and says exactly what she thinks. The comedic timing is brilliant, whether it's pure childlike innocence or very mature, impressive acting the performance is definitely a great portrayal of the character. Now 25 years old she has said she won't be returning to screen but prefers to focus on writing, she writes a blog and has written several theatre scripts.
Film Recommendation: Mrs Doubtfire (of course) - also starring Robin Williams and Sally Field
8. Alex D. Linz
Well, I know this child from two films, home alone 3 and One Fine Day. Home alone 3 is a film I'm not particularly fond of and probably wouldn't recommend, nonetheless if nothing else was on TV, and I was feeling particularly lazy, I would probably use it as an excuse to keep the remote control! Whereas One Fine Day, well of course I like that one - it's got a love story in it plus two adorable children. Little Sammy is so cute, when I watch home alone I forget that it's the same child. The character is definitely his and it's another heart melting performance.
Film Recommendation: One Fine Day - also starring George Clooney *swoon* and Michelle Pfeiffer
9. Drew Barrymore
So of course she's known very much as an adult actress in her own right, but she started acting when she was 11 months old. Her breakthrough role was as Gerty in E.T: The Extra Terrestrial and let's face it she made hell of a good start to what she didn't know was going to be a full and successful Hollywood career. She plays the part well, she even cries and the death scene and you can't really make any complaints about little Drew Barrymore.
Film Recomendation E.T The Extra Terrestrial - It's her best childhood film!
10.Thomas Sangster
Not a name you might recognise instantly, but nonetheless a very famous young actor. In Love Actually he plays the adorable lovestruck Sam, we follow his story as intently as all the other adult stories and he was highly commended and nominated for two awards for this role. Other films he starred in include Nanny Mc Phee and Nowhere Boy. Although in Nowhere boy he was nineteen he was playing the part of a young Paul McCartney, younger than his own age. A very good performance also. He is still acting now and at the age of 23 has had and will most probably continue to have a very successful acting career.
Film Recomendation: Nowhere Boy - also starring Aaron Johnson and Kristin Scott Thomas. (okay I cheated a bit with that one he was nineteen, but it's such a good film!)
So that's it for now, never work with children? I suppose it depends who they are and who you are, but I don't think any of the above mentioned caused much trouble for their co stars. In fact I'm sure most of them are honoured to have worked with such young up coming stars.
That's all Folks
Fay♥
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