Child Actors (see Biography, Fiction, Cinema)

• Bibliography; see Category:Children--Biblio (film subject)

• Expertise : Actors -- Singers -- Child Actors -- Child Singers -- Film Composers -- Film Directors -- Scriptwriters

• Genres : Feature Films -- Short Films -- TV Films -- TV mini-series -- Animated Feature Films -- Animated Short Films -- Documentaries Film-operas -- Film-plays -- Video Recordings

Overview

Child Actors & Second Temple Judaism

Second Temple Judaism has given to child actors two big roles--Child Jesus and Amahl.

Among the many child actors who have played the role of Child Jesus in films on the Life of Jesus, are Percy Dyer, Renato Visca, Harold Quintin Driscoll, Erik Ode, Richard Palmer, Lorenzo Monet, David Bravo, Matteo Bellina, Gianmarco Giovi, Brando Pacitto, and Adam Greaves-Neal.

The best role for trebles (in films or on the stage) is that of Amahl in the Menotti opera. Among the most notable interpreters are Chet Allen, James Sammarco, Bill McIver, Kirk Jordan and Kurt Yaghjian.

Apart for these two roles, not many opportunities have been offered to child actors. Some notable exceptions are Mickey Moore and Muriel McCormac featured by Cecil B. DeMille in 1927 as Child Mark and a Blind Girl respectively, Paola Tedesco featured as Salome by Pier Paolo Pasolini in 1964, and Juliette Caton featured as the Devil by Martin Scorsese in 1988.

Most Famous Child Actors

Born in the 1880s

• Benoit Duval (1881-...) FRA

Born in the 1890s

• Tom Williamson (1891- ) GBR
• Jack Pickford (1896- ) CAN
• Adele DeGarde (1899- ) USA

Born in the 1900s

• Gladys Egan (1900-1985) USA
• Marie Eline (1902-1981) USA
• Maria Fromet (1902-1967) FRA
• Lewis Sargent (1903- ) USA
• Wesley Barry (1907-1994) USA
• Gordon Griffith (1907-1958) USA
• Georgie Stone (1909-2010) USA

Born in the 1910s

• Marie Osborne (1911-2010) USA
• Jean Forest (1912-1980) FRA
• Ernst Morrison (1912-1989) USA
• Jackie Coogan (1914-1984) USA
• Philippe De Lacy (1917-1995) FRA
• Diana Serra Cary (1918-2020) USA

Born in the 1920s

• Robert Lynen (1920-1944) FRA
• Mickey Rooney (1920-2014) USA
• Billy Mauch (1921-2006) & Bobby Mauch (1921-2007) USA
• Jackie Cooper (1922-2011) USA
• Freddie Bartholomew (1924-1992) GBR
• Sabu (1924-1963) IND
• Bobby Breen (1927-2016) CAN
• Carl Switzer (1927-1959) USA
• Roddy McDowall (1928-1998) GBR
• Shirley Temple (1928-2014) USA

Born in the 1930s

• Johnny Sheffield (1931-2010) USA
• Peggy Ann Garner (1932-1984) USA
• Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011) GBR
• Claude Jarman (1934) USA
• Dean Stockwell (1936-2021) USA
• Bobby Driscoll (1937-1968) USA
• Ivan Jandl (1937-1987) CZE
• Margaret O'Brien (1937) USA
• Natalie Wood (1938-1981) USA
• Enzo Staiola (1939) ITA

Born in the 1940s

• Tommy Rettig (1941-1996) USA
• Brandon De Wilde (1942-1972) USA
• Lee Aaker (1943-2021) USA
• Billy Chapin (1943-2016) USA
• Patty McCormack (1945) USA
• Nikolaj Burljaev (1946-2021) RUS
• Johnny Crawford (1946) USA
• Patty Duke (1946-2016) USA
• Hayley Mills (1946) GBR
• Martin Stephens (1948) GBR

Born in the 1950s

• Mary Badham (1952) USA
• Ron Howard (1954) USA
• Bill Mumy (1954) USA
• Karen Dotrice (1955) GBR
• Matthew Garber (1956-1977) GBR
• Peter Ostrum (1957) USA
• Kevin Hooks (1958) USA
• Mark Lester (1958) GBR
• Johnny Whitaker (1959) USA

Born in the 1960s

• Jodie Foster (1962)
• Andrea Balestri (1963)
• Tatum O'Neal (1963)
• Melissa Gilbert (1964) USA
• Quinn Cummings (1967)

Born in the 1970s

• Danny de Munk (1970) NLD
• Rick Schroder (1970) USA
• Justin Henry (1971) USA
• Barrett Oliver (1973) USA
• Christian Bale (1974) GBR
• Leonardo DiCaprio (1974) USA
• Fred Savage (1976) USA
• Salvatore Cascio (1979) ITA

Born in the 1980s

• Macaulay Culkin (1980) USA
• Elijah Wood (1981) USA
• Kirsten Dunst (1982) USA
• Anna Paquin (1982)
• Joseph Mazzello (1983) USA
• Jamie Bell (1986) GBR
• Haley Joel Osment (1988) USA
• Daniel Radcliffe (1989) GBR

Born in the 1990s

• Giuseppe Cristiano (1990) ITA
• Thomas Brodie-Sangster (1990) GBR
• Emma Watson (1990) GBR
• Giorgio Cantarini (1992) ITA
• Freddie Highmore (1992) GBR
• Dakota Fanning (1994) USA
• Alex Etel (1994) GBR
• Tom Holland (1994) GBR

Born in the 2000s

• Sophie Nelisse (2000) CAN
• Zain al-Rafeea (2004) SYR
• Jacob Tremblay (2006) CAN
• Roman Griffin Davis (2007) GBR

Awards

• See Academy Juvenile Award (1934-1960)

• See Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film

Dennis Christopher (1979) - Justin Henry (1980) - Ricky Schroder (1981) - Henry Thomas (1982) - C. Thomas Howell (1983) - Anthony Michael Hall (1984) - Sean Astin (1985) - Peter Billingsley (1986) - River Phoenix / Fred Savage / Patrick Dempsey / Corey Feldman (1987) - Christian Bale / Corey Feldman / Corey Haim / Lukas Haas (1988) - Sean Astin (1989) - Macaulay Culkin (1990) - Ethan Randall (1991) - Elijah Wood (1992) - Edward Furlong / Jason James Richter / Mason Gamble (1993) - Brad Renfro (1994) - Wil Horneff (1995) - Lucas Black (1996) - Blake Heron / Kevin Zegers (1997) - Miko Hughes (1998) - Haley Joel Osment (1999) - Rob Brown (2000) - Anton Yelchin (2001) - Tyler Hoechlin (2002) - Jeremy Sumpter (2003) - Jamie Bell (2004) - Josh Hutcherson (2005) - Logan Lerman (2006) - Josh Hutcherson (2007) - Nate Hartley (2008) - Max Records (2009) - Jaden Smith (2010) - Dakota Goyo (2011) - Tom Holland (2012) - Miles Elliot (2013) - Reese Hartwig (2014) - Jared Breeze / Steele Stebbins / Michael Grant (2015) - Julian Feder (2016) - Jacob Tremblay (2017) - Christopher Convery (2018) - Christian Convery (2019)

• See Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film (1978-present)

Diane Lane (1979) - Diane Lane (1980) - Kristy McNichol (1981) - Aileen Quinn (1982) - Roxana Zal (1983) - Molly Ringwald (1984) - Meredith Salenger (1985) - Laura Jacoby (1986) - Lisa Bonet / Maia Brewton / Christa Denton / Lea Thompson (1987) - Mayim Bialik / Kristy Swanson / Hayley Taylor-Block (1988) - Winona Ryder (1989) - Robin Weisman (1990) - Thora Birch (1991) - Alisan Porter (1992) - Thora Birch / Ariana Richards / Christina Vidal (1993) - Anna Chlumsky (1994) - Anna Chlumsky (1995) - Michelle Trachtenberg (1996) - Mara Wilson (1997) - Lindsay Lohan / Jena Malone (1998) - Kimberly J. Brown (1999) - Elizabeth Huett (2000) - Scarlett Johansson / Emma Watson (2001) - Alexa Vega (2002) - Jenna Boyd (2003) - Emmy Rossum (2004) - Dakota Fanning (2005) - Keke Palmer (2006) - AnnaSophia Robb (2007) - Dakota Fanning (2008) - Abigail Breslin (2009) - Hailee Steinfeld (2010) - Chloë Grace Moretz (2011) - Kathryn Newton / Quvenzhané Wallis (2012) - Sophie Nelisse / Loreto Peralta (2013) - Quvenzhané Wallis (2014) - Quinn McColgan / Liv Southard (2015) - Sofia Rosinsky (2016) - Savannah Liles (2017) - Chalet Lizette Brannan (2018) - Lexy Kolker (2019)

• See Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor (1984-present)

• See Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer (1996-present)

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• 1996 (Best Child Performance) - Jonathan Lipnicki (Jerry Maguire)

• 1997 (Best Child Performance) - Jurnee Smollett (Eve's Bayou)

• 1998 (Best Child Performance) - Ian Michael Smith (Simon Birch)

1999

Critics' Choice

• 1999 (Best Child Performance) - Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense)

Saturn

• 1999 (26th) - Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense)
  • Emily Bergl (The Rage: Carrie 2)
  • Jake Lloyd (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace)
  • Justin Long (Galaxy Quest)
  • Natalie Portman (Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace)
  • Devon Sawa (Idle Hands)

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• 2000 (Best Child Performance) - Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot)

• 2001 (Best Child Performance) - Dakota Fanning (I Am Sam)
  • Haley Joel Osment (A.I. Artificial Intelligence)
  • Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

• 2002 (Best Child Performance) - Kieran Culkin (Igby Goes Down)
  • Tyler Hoechlin (Road to Perdition)
  • Nicholas Hoult (About a Boy)
  • Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)

• 2003 (Best Child Performance) - Keisha Castle-Hughes]] (Whale Rider)
  • Emma Bolger (In America)
  • Sarah Bolger (In America)
  • Evan Rachel Wood (Thirteen)

• 2004 (Best Young Actor) -- Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland)
  • Liam Aiken (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events)
  • Cameron Bright (Birth)
  • Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  • William Ullrich (Beyond the Sea

• 2004 (Best Young Actress) -- Emmy Rossum (The Phantom of the Opera)
  • [[Emily Browning (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
  • [[Dakota Fanning (Man on Fire)
  • [[Lindsay Lohan (Mean Girls)
  • [[Emma Watson (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)

2005 (Best Young Actor) -- Freddie Highmore (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

• • Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale)
  • Owen Kline (The Squid and the Whale)
  • Alex Etel (Millions)
  • [[Daniel Radcliffe Harry Potter Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)

• 2005 (Best Young Actress) - Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds)
  • Flora Cross (Bee Season)
  • Georgie Henley (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)
  • Q'orianka Kilcher (The New World)
  • Emma Watson (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)

2006 (Best Young Actor) - Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine)

• • Cameron Bright (Thank You for Smoking)
  • Joseph Cross (Running with Scissors)
  • Freddie Highmore (A Good Year)
  • Jaden Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness)

• 2006 (Best Young Actress) - Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine)
  • Ivana Baquero (Pan's Labyrinth)
  • Shareeka Epps (Half Nelson)
  • Dakota Fanning (Charlotte's Web)
  • Keke Palmer (Akeelah and the Bee)

2007 (Best Young Actor) - Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada (The Kite Runner)

• • Michael Cera (Juno)
  • Freddie Highmore (August Rush)
  • Edward Sanders (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street)

• 2007 (Best Young Actress) - [[Nikki Blonsky Tracy Turnblad Hairspray)
  • [[Dakota Blue Richards Lyra Belacqua The Golden Compass)
  • [[AnnaSophia Robb Leslie Burke Bridge to Terabithia)
  • [[Saoirse Ronan Briony Tallis, aged 13 Atonement)

• 2008 (Best Young Performer) - Dev Patel Jamal Malik Slumdog Millionaire)
  • [[Dakota Fanning Lily Owens The Secret Life of Bees)
  • [[David Kross Young Michael Berg The Reader)
  • [[Brandon Walters Nullah Australia)

• 2009 (Best Young Performer) - [[Saoirse Ronan Susie Salmon The Lovely Bones)
  • [[Jae Head Sean "S.J." Tuohy Jr. The Blind Side)
  • [[Bailee Madison Isabelle Cahill Brothers)
  • Max Records (Where the Wild Things Are)
  • Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road)

• 2010 (Best Young Performer) - Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
  • Elle Fanning (Somewhere)
  • Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
  • Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass)
  • Chloë Grace Moretz (Let Me In)
  • Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In)

• 2011 (Best Young Performer) - Thomas Horn (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close)
  • Asa Butterfield (Hugo)
  • Elle Fanning (Super 8)
  • Ezra Miller (We Need to Talk About Kevin)
  • Saoirse Ronan (Hanna)
  • Shailene Woodley (The Descendants)

• 2012 (Best Young Performer) - Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)
  • Elle Fanning (Ginger & Rosa)
  • Kara Hayward (Moonrise Kingdom)
  • Tom Holland (The Impossible)
  • Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)
  • Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi)

• 2013 (Best Young Performer) - Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue Is the Warmest Colour)
  • Asa Butterfield (Ender's Game)
  • Liam James (The Way Way Back)
  • Sophie Nélisse (The Book Thief)
  • Tye Sheridan (Mud)

• 2014 (Best Young Performer) - Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood)
  • Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars)
  • Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar)
  • Jaeden Martell (St. Vincent)
  • Tony Revolori (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
  • Quvenzhané Wallis (Annie)
  • Noah Wiseman (The Babadook)

• 2015 (Best Young Performer) - Jacob Tremblay (Room)
  • Abraham Attah (Beasts of No Nation)
  • RJ Cyler (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl)
  • Shameik Moore (Dope)
  • Milo Parker (Mr. Holmes)

• 2016 (Best Young Performer) - Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)
  • Alex R. Hibbert (Moonlight)
  • Lewis MacDougall (A Monster Calls)
  • Madina Nalwanga (Queen of Katwe)
  • Sunny Pawar (Lion)
  • Hailee Steinfeld (The Edge of Seventeen)

• 2017 (Best Young Performer) - Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project)
  • Mckenna Grace (Gifted)
  • Dafne Keen (Logan)
  • Millicent Simmonds (Wonderstruck)
  • Jacob Tremblay (Wonder)

• 2018 (Best Young Performer) - Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade)
  • Thomasin McKenzie (Leave No Trace)
  • Ed Oxenbould (Wildlife)
  • Millicent Simmonds (A Quiet Place)
  • Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give)
  • Sunny Suljic (Mid90s)

2019

Critic's Choice (2019)

• 2019 (Best Young Performer) - Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit)
  • Julia Butters (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
  • Shahadi Wright Joseph (Us)
  • Noah Jupe (Honey Boy)
  • Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit)
  • Archie Yates (Jojo Rabbit)

Saturn

• Kyliegh Curran (Doctor Sleep)
  • Ella Jay Basco (Birds of Prey)
  • Julia Butters (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
  • Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit)
  • Lexy Kolker (Freaks)
  • JD McCrary (The Lion King)

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• 2020 (Best Young Performer) - Alan Kim (Minari)
  • Ryder Allen (Palmer)
  • Ibrahima Gueye (The Life Ahead)
  • Talia Ryder (Sometimes Always)
  • Caoilinn Springall (The Midnight Sky)
  • Helena Zengel (News of the World)

• 2021 (Best Young Performer) - Jude Hill (Belfast)
  • Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza)
  • Emilia Jones (CODA)
  • Woody Norman (C'mon C'mon)
  • Saniyya Sidney (King Richard)
  • Rachel Zegler (West Side Story)

• 2022 (Best Young Performer) - <Gabriel LaBelle> (The Fabelmans)
  • Frankie Corio (Aftersun)
  • Jalyn Hall (Till)
  • Bella Ramsey (Catherine Called Birdy)
  • Banks Repeta (Armageddon Time)
  • Sadie Sink (The Whale)

External links

• The Sky Kid: Young Talent in Music and the Arts