Friday, March 12, 2010

Child Stars Gone....Good?

Image via www.wolfgnards.com


In the midst of the tragedy of Corey Haim's apparent overdose, there's been a lot of speculation out there about child stars "gone bad." The public is endlessly fascinated by watching our favorite fresh-faced young child actors crash and burn in a frenzy of drinking and drug use. Perhaps it's our naturally voyeuristic spirit, but we just can't seem to get enough of these stories that warrant a VH1 voiceover guy intoning humorlessly, "He had everything, and he threw it all away." It seems the price of fame is often paid in a lifetime of indebtedness to a cuteness and innocence they can never recapture as an adult.


But what about those child stars who went the straight and narrow? Certainly there are some child actors out there who went on to become doctors, lawyers, or even non-drug using celebrities? While the temptation to go the Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? route is undeniably tempting, some of the actors we knew and love as children have managed to pull it together and lead relatively normal lives. You know, if your normal life still involved being accosted by now-grown-but-still-screechy devoted fans. They've got to be out there.

Turns out, they are. Just because their once banked-upon child cuteness factor plummets as they grow older doesn't automatically mean they're doomed for a life of listless unhappiness and sporadic drug binges. Some of them get it together with a successful show biz career, while others grow into an unrecognizable version of their celebrity child selves and can walk freely among us as common citizens.

Natalie Portman


Portman first caught mainstream public attention for her roles in Anywhere but Here and the Star Wars prequels, establishing herself as a formidable child actress. She must also have been a formidable student, as she went on to study psychology at Harvard, even serving as Alan Dershowitz's research assistant. Portman has since been heavily involved in environmental and political affairs, proving that she's more than just a tiny pretty face.

Mayim Bialik



Oh, Blossom. You were poised to be such a star, and then you seemed to vanish from the show biz radar entirely. She was so likable in her eponymous role in Blossom, it's not a stretch to imagine her down-to-earthness translated into her real life. Bialik was accepted to both Harvard and Yale but chose to attend UCLA, pursuing a bachelor's in neuroscience, Hebrew, and Jewish studies and later a PhD in neuroscience. As Joey Russo would say, whoa.


Tina Majorino



In the 90s, we knew Majorino for her roles in Corinna, Corinna and Andre, though you may more recently recognize from Big Love, Veronica Mars, and Napoleon Dynamite. Despite her recent dabblings in the biz, she's stayed low key to a point she refers to as the "anti-Lohan."


Anna Paquin



After watching Tatum O'Neil's downward spiral following her childhood Oscar win, it's natural we'd be a bit wary of the future of other children Academy Award recipients. Paquin won her Best Supporting Actress award for The Piano at age 11 and went on to smoothly transition from child actor to adult actor with a steady line of work. I just knew that girl had a good head on her shoulders; I sensed it from when I saw her in Fly Away Home. I would totally trust her to regulate my migration patterns.


Fred Savage, Josh Saviano, Danica McKellar






Let's give a hand to the good people behind The Wonder Years, shall we? These people really knew how to pick 'em. How else do you explain the mostly quiet but relatively normal success of the show's main child stars? Saviano became a lawyer, McKellar a hot mathematician, and Savage went on to mostly behind-the-scenes work. We may not totally be able to forgive him for bringing us Daddy Day Care, but overall this group's alright.


Jeff B. Cohen



I know, I know, the name might not be familiar, but this guy was "Chunk" from The Goonies. He's come a long way since the Truffle Shuffle--he's now an attorney and was named one of the top 35 entertainment executives under 25 by the Hollywood Report.


Neil Patrick Harris



What else would you expect from child prodigy Doogie Howser, MD? Harris has gone on to prove that you can have it all, including an incredibly successful sitcom career, hilarious self-mocking movie cameos, and intro-ing the Oscars vis-a-vis a huge over-the-top musical number. He's also gone on to become a role model for openly gay mainstream actors. Well done, Dr. Howser.


Larisa Oleynik


We may not have expected much from her academically as Bianca in 10 Things, but it turns out Oleynik was secretly more of a Kat in real life. Oleynik attended Sarah Lawrence College, graduating in 2004. I always suspected she was more of a Dawn from The Babysitter's Club than a Bianca, in which case it all adds up pretty well.


Jonathan Taylor Thomas


Jonathan Taylor Thomas was a bona fide teen heartthrob in the 90s, so imagine our surprise to find JTT wasn't all that into the limelight, opting to enroll in college in lieu of continuing on his Tiger Beat-heavy career path. Oh JTT, how little we knew ye. So little, in fact, that many of us had no clue his real name is Jonathan Taylor Weiss. JTW just don't have the same ring to it, though, does it?


Joseph Gordon-Levitt



One of the lucky to smoothly transition from successful child actor to successful teen actor to successful adult actor. He even managed to attend Columbia somewhere in between. Plus, he finally found a haircut that suited him. Very impressive stuff.


Charlie Korsmo

You know, that kid from Hook and the nerdy revenge-seeking kid from Can't Hardly Wait? He went on to pursue a degree in physics froms MIT, graduate Yale Law, and make good as a Young Republican. Not too shabby.


These grown up child stars are living proof that the kids can turn out all right after all. It's comforting to know that not all child stars are headed on an inevitable downward trajectory. Some of them are doing just fine. More than fine, really; many have managed to sustain their level of initial success. The rest of us should only be so lucky.

19 comments:

the pizza said...

not sure you can include Cameron on his list. doesn't he like, eat babies, or something?

nikki said...

Fred Savage gets extra kudos from me for directing several episodes of the funniest show on TV today - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

I would have left Kirk Cameron off the list. His remarks linking atheism and Darwinism to the Holocaust are sickening. And he's made some questionable anti-semitic statements.

Shannon SVH said...

Yeah, Kirk's gone a little bit off the deep end I think, but I totally agree with the rest of this list. And I have the biggest crush on Joseph Gordon Levitt. I can't wait to see Inception.

Children of the 90s said...

Perhaps I didn't realize just how controversial Cameron's views are--I don't know much about his ministry, but after a little more research I'm wont to agree. The people have spoken--he's been cut from the list!

KatiePerk said...

What a good point you make! I loved the Wonder Years...Who knew Blossom was such a smarty?

Sadako said...

Agreed, Nikki, he's all kinds of scary.

Love the Blossom-What not to wear clip/ad you posted. It's just kind of awesome to think of her being criticized for bad fashion instead of drugs/eating disorders/crime.

Melissa said...

Love this! It's nice to see that a lot of my favorite child stars turned out well. Hanson should be on there too! Haha I LOVED them growing up, and they're now all married with kids and making better music than ever.

I agree about Kirk (and Candace) Cameron. They're insane.

teddi said...

I'm applauding The Wonder Years, as always.

JTT is JEWISH? YES!

Ali said...

What a refreshing post, since most child stars go in the completely opposite direction.

And Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I can't even start on him, because then I'll never stop. LOVE. THAT. MAN.

Miss Crystal said...

You left out Natalie Portman's first role as hit man prodigy in "Leon: The Professional" in 1994. She was only 13 but amazing!

LWLH said...

Mayim is also now on The Secret Life of an American Teenager now!

coulrophobic agnostic said...

Don't forget Jodie Foster.

And I think Candace Cameron turned out okay. Yeah, she's ultrareligious, but she doesn't hurt people with it like her brother has.

Meghan said...

Oh, I love Tina Majorino.

I always think Fred Savage is a creep because he played an abusive boyfriend in a Lifetime movie...

Andhari said...

Neil Patrick Harris is always my personal favorite. From How I Met Your Mother and soon now, Glee. The guy is successful!:)

nikki said...

And Meghan, don't forget when he tried to sleep with Topanga on that one episode of Boy Meets World.

He actually plays a pretty good creep.

Benny said...

On the list of child stars who didn't make it, we can't forget the recently-deceased Andrew Koenig... his story is particularly sad because, if you look at his imdb credits, he actually tried to be successful at other aspects of the business in his adult years.
If I had a kid and he became a star, I'd approach it as if his fame were definitely going to be temporary. I wouldn't discourage him from acting, but I'd remind him that even if his career continues, he may never become as famous as he was as a young kid.

kanishk said...

he's made some questionable anti-semitic statements.
Work From Home

Anonymous said...

Tina Majorino in Corrinna, Corrinna has got to be one of the cutest things ever. When she's laying on the grass with her little hand in the pocket of her dead mom's dress... Ugh, gets me every time! She was amazing in Water World as well.

Unknown said...

This is really a great list!! Actually I don’t have much interest in these types of topics but I liked your article on child actors and really appreciate your work.

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