Child actor

The term child actor is generally applied to a child acting in film or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion the latter is also called a former child actor.

Examples (movies in which they played are mentioned only if they were still a child):

• Dakota Fanning (1994)
  • I Am Sam (2001)
  • ''Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
  • ''Stephen Spielberg's Taken (2002)
  • The Cat in The Hat (2003)
• Sal Mineo (1939)
  • Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
  • Giant (1956)
• Ron Howard (1954)
  • The Andy Griffith Show (1960)
  • The Music Man (1962)
  • The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963)
• Anissa Jones (1958)
  • Family Affair (1966-71)
• Jodie Foster (1962)
  • Freaky Friday (1965)
  • The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
  • Taxi Driver (1976)
• Ricky Schroder (1970)
  • The Champ (1979)
• Danny de Munk (1970)
  • Ciske de Rat (1984)
• Ke Huy Quan (1971)
  • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
  • The Goonies (1985)
• Emmanuel Lewis (1971)
  • sitcom Webster (1980s)
• Leonardo DiCaprio (1974)
  • Growing Pains (1991)
  • This Boy's Life (1993)
  • What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
• Heather O'Rourke (1975)
  • Poltergeist movie series (1982-88)
• Macaulay Culkin (1980)
  • Home Alone (1990)
  • Home Alone 2 (1992)
  • The Good Son (1993)
  • Richie Rich (1994)
• Brad Renfro (1982)
  • The Client (1994)
  • The Cure (1995)
• Daniel Radcliffe (1989)
  • Harry Potter (2001/2002/to be continued)
• Emma Watson (1990)
  • Harry Potter (2001/2002/to be continued)

For estimating the age at the time of shooting, note that above the years of release are given.

The term "child actor" carries some stigma as child actors sometimes have troubled adult lives, due in part to their unusual upbringings. A well-known example of this is the child cast of the 1980s sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes." Child members of that cast grew into adults who had several run-ins with the law.

See also child singer.