What is your favourite performance given by a child actor?
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ucme (
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August 23rd, 2011
This may have been asked before, possibly by myself. If that is the case, it was a fair while ago & it certainly didn’t crop up when typing the question, so we move on undeterred.
So yeah, pretty straightforward stuff. If you’re ready, then you may begin.
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42 Answers
Hailee Steinfeld was 13 when she filmed True Grit. I loved her performance in the film. I had never heard of her until I saw her in this film. I’m a fan now.
Tatum O’Neil – Paper Moon
Lindsey Lohan, The Parent Trap.
Such potential.
Macauley Culkin in Home Alone
Anna Paquin in The Piano for modern movies.
Shirley Temple in The Little Princess for older movies.
Contenders: Sarah Hollis Andrews in The Secret Garden (from 1975), Freddie Highmore from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Alex Etel in The Waterhorse, and Keisha Castle-Hughes in The Whale Rider.
I’m a fan of Gary Coleman. Some of those early Diff’rent Strokes episodes were quite moving.
“Toooooo-morrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow, You’re only a day a-way!” I would have to say that one wins.
I’m with @jonsblond too. I went looking the actress up to answer the question, then saw she already did.
I also liked Christina Applegate, Alyssa Milano, and the hot girl from Charles in Charge as a teen.
Victoire Thivisol was 5 when “Ponette” was filmed. She plays a little girl whose mom died in a car crash. An amazingly natural performance. Here’s the trailer .
Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine
Tina Majorino in Corrina Corrina
Jonathan Lipnicki in Jerry Maguire
Peter Billingsley in A Christmas Story
Honestly, most of our fav movies have great child actors in them
Older flicks:
Natalie Wood in Miracle on 34th Street
Ronny Howard in The Courtship of Eddie’s Father
my list could go on forever…I have lots of favs!
As a general rule I tend to be easily irritated by child actors (watching a young Emma Watson as Hermoine Granger irritates the shit out of me) but I absolutely love the two children in Mary Poppins.
I’ve got to give it up for Hailee Stienfield. You just don’t mess with a movie like True Grit unless you are prepared to absolutely nail it. Not only was she terrific in the role, but she played it so well that the fact that the Marshall was somebody other than “The Duke” became irrelevant.
Bravo!
I also have to agree with @Jude. It’s hard to beat Tatum O’neal in “Paper Moon”
Natalie Portman in The Professional
Christian Bale in Empire of the Sun
And a nod to Jodie Foster, already a veteran of movies, but still a kid, for The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane. That was one dark movie.
@Jude I loved Tatum O’Neil in Paper Moon (which is a wonderful, underrated movie.) Especially in this scene.
My favourite performance would have to be Jackie Coogan in The Kid. His career as a child actor is what launched the Coogan Law.
Cheers folks, good stuff!
My own personal fave is a young Natalie Portman in the ubercool Leon. Great movie, fine performances all round.
@ucme Leon and The Professional are the same movie. The title was changed for US marketing. I should have noted that. And yes, Ms. Portman was awesome in that role, and it was her first movie.
@Pied_Pfeffer Wow, forgive me, my brain’s not in gear tonight. We were singing from the same songsheet all along. I can only add that you have impeccable taste ;¬}
Jodie Foster did really well in Taxi Driver when she was fourteen.
Jody Foster in ET: The Extraterrestrial by Stephen Spielberg.
hayley joel osment in the sixth sense. One of america’s finest actors
I can’t believe that I forgot to mention Sofia Vasilieva from the movie My Sister’s Keeper. She’s the one on the left in the photo. She actually shaved her head to play a young girl dying of cancer. Talk about a tear jerker. I highly recommend watching this movie, but be forewarned that you will need a lot of kleenex and you’ll probably want to beat the crap out of Cameron Diaz who plays her mother.
Diane Lane and Theolonius Bernard in “A Little Romance”
link
@DarlingRhadamanthus OMG! I loved that movie when it came out. I’m about the exact age as Diane Lane! Thanks for reminding me about it. : )
Probably Isabelle Fuhrman as Esther in Orphan. The whole premise is so so, but that actress really gave the character a soul, and made the whole movie awesome. I can actually take it seriously. It’s kinda like how Béatrice Dalle made Inside more than what your average slasher movie usually is.
Victoire Thivisol in Ponette is also a great mention. That movie isn’t very contemporary, and I believe everyone who worked on it gave it their all, but for an actual five or so year old to play such an intense role and make you believe it that much, she rocks. It doesn’t even seem like she was acting…
Thought of another notable this morning. How about Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. Not only did she play the role extremely well in this all time classic, she had an absolutely awesome singing voice!
@Kardamom..Thanks for that! Now, you know you have to see it again, don’t you?? lol It’s such a little gem and not many know about it even after all these years.
Chloe Grace Moretz in Let Me In.
The little boy in Sixth Sense (Haley Joel Osment) “I see dead people” was such a creepy line.
He was great. I felt every emotion he was giving off.
Lindsay Lohan, the Parent Trap.
Mackenzie Foy in The Conjuring and Tatum O’Neil in Paper Moon.
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