Greatest Child Film Performance (16 and under)

That's still my favorite performance by a child.

Linda Blair as Regan in The Exorcist. What an iconic goddess.

Patty Duke

Kristen Dunst in Interview with a Vampire was great. She creeped me the hell out.

Christian Bale owns this.

Though it was a mediocre movie, Haley Joel Osment’s performance in The Sixth Sense was perfection in my opinion.

He was also very good in "A.I."

Sandrine Bonnaire in Maurice Pialat's À nos amours. She was 16.

The kid in Babadook was very good. The director spend a lot lot of time working with him and Essie Davis.

Jean-Pierre Léaud in 400 Blows by Truffaut. He was 14.

Another vote for Bale, Léaud, Dunst.

Jyo Kairi and Miyu Sasaki (Shoplifters)

Bertil Guve (Fanny and Alexander)

Pierce Gagnon in Rian Johnson's "Looper".

Quvenzhané Wallis in Benh Zeitlin's "Beasts of the Southern Wild".

Elijah Wood in Joseph Ruben's "The Good Son".

I think Ricky Schroeder in ‘The Champ’ was outstanding. The final scene truly makes me churn up.

David Bennent in "The Tin Drum"

Judith Vittet in THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN.

Tatum O’Neal in PAPER MOON.

Christina Ricci in mermaids was perfection , especially for an 8/9 year old.

Judith Crist, this is DL. Margaret O'Brien in Meet Me in St. Louis, of course. Not to mention Shirley Temple in nearly a dozen of Fox films from the 1930s. John Ford directed her twice in that period and called her "One Take Temple."

And this:

Jodie Foster and Tatum O’Neal

I thought Shirley Temple and Freddy Bartholomew was pretty great.

Dean Stockwell

Temple was Hitler's favorite actress and he had personal prints of all her films.

River Phoenix

This is DL and OP said under sixteen. There is only one answer.

Patty McCormack looks so different in the photo at R23!

Touché, r24.

Freddie Bartholomew.

Too bad Bale turned out to be such a piece of shit in real-life, OP.

I liked Patrick Fugit in Almost Famous. I just googled him - looks pretty good nowadays.

Bobby Breen in "Hawaii Calls."

Victoire Thivisol in "Ponette" Catinca Untaru in "The Fall"

The girl in orphan.

Maureen McCormick at 15

Martin Stephens and Pamela Franklin in The Innocents

Jacob Kogan in Joshua

Danny Pintauro in Cujo

Jonathan Scott-Taylor in Damien: Omen II

On television

Lucas Black in "American Gothic"

Johnny Crawford in "The Rifleman"

Ann Carter in "The Curse of the Cat People" (44).

Natalie Wood in "Driftwood" (47).

Billy Chapin in "The Night of the Hunter" (55).

Ronnie Howard as Opie Taylor

Jacob Tremblay, ROOM.

David Henesy in Dark Shadows

David was excellent in Dark Shadows. Outclassed the older, classier actors. Especially that dolt who played his father.

Ann Blyth, 16/17, "Mildred Pierce," Oscar° nom, supporting actress

Patty McCormack, "The Bad Seed" 1956

Freddie Highmore in August Rush and Finding Neverland. Dakota Fanning in Man on Fire.

Bob Anderson in "It's a Wonderful Life."

Bale was excellent and deserves all the acclaim, even though he was at his best in American Psycho. But I'm glad someone mentioned The Innocents, it's also hard to top - "Miles'" performance is particularly brilliant. The Bad Seed too ofc. The Curse Of The Cat People I'm sure DL would love too, it has the lovely Kent Smith in it, just like the original Cat People. The story has very little to do w the original.

You know the mom from Gummo? Linda Manz? Her early performances were just as good as Jodie Foster's. Terrance Malick's Days of Heaven I believe was her breakout role.

This is the most satisfying!

Jackie Haley as Adore in Day of the Locust. Every frame of his in this film is creepy.

Peggy Ann Garner in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was lovely and got a Juvenile Oscar°.

r32

That's Oscar worthy and she was on TV but still should've won an Oscar for it.

[quote]Temple was Hitler's favorite actress and he had personal prints of all her films.

And yet he banned her films and any Shirley Temple related products. The interracial elements of her films were just too much for him.

Mary Badham in “To Kill a Mockingbird”

Je're'mie Renier in "La Promesse." He's the star.

Freddie Highmore. And I agree with above thread re: Elijah Wood. He was in a lot of crap movies but was the best thing in all of them. Amazing in Radio Flyer.....

Jodie Foster gave one of the finest performances of any actor of any age in Taxi Driver. I don't particularly care for her as an adult actor, but she's just astonishing in that film.

Brad Renfro in The Client and The Cure at least.

Jean Pierre Leaud's casting audition is even better than the role itself, IMO. Sorry if somebody has already posted this.

Joseph Mazzello in “Jurassic Park”. He’s done quite well since then.

Searching for Bobby Fischer has one of my favorite child performances.

Haley Mills in Tiger Bay.

I'm surprised it took 44 replies before someone said Dakota Fanning. The fact that she was only SIX YEARS OLD in I Am Sam is extraordinary.

Unfortunately, I think DF later got typecast as the precocious, wise-beyond-her-years little girl after the role. It worked in a movie like I Am Sam (where the entire point is a mentally disabled father has an unusually intelligent kid) but the schtick became a little old and off-putting.

I was surprised that DF is still acting. Like most former child stars you don't really hear about her much anymore.

Has anyone mentioned Henry Thomas in E.T. Or the truffle shuffle yet.

R49 never seen the film before but that indeed was creepy, why is he playing a girl?

Also just realized it's the same guy who played Rorschach in that awful Zac Snyder Watchmen film.

Another vote for Mary Badham for To Kill A Mockingbird. She should've won the Oscar for Supporting Actress.

Runner up vote for Ann Carter in Curse of the Cat People.

Yes! Joseph Mazzello was the other kid in Radio Flyer. He and Wood played brothers. Both extraordinary (esp. considering how young Mazzello was).

Gigi Perreau in "Shadow On the Wall." Even more impressive because she had to act opposite Nancy Reagan! (Great noir-ish movie, BTW, with Ann Sothern and Zachary Scott playing against type.)

Jodie Foster in Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane.

The baby that got eaten by the dingo.

This is not DL. Nobody mentioned Patty Duke in 'The Miracle Worker.'

Another vote for the young actress in 'Orphan.' That was an astonishing, utterly convincing performance.

Harvey Spencer Stephens was sufficiently antiChrist-y in The Omen.

Ronnie Howard in The Music Man

Gordon Gebert In Holiday Affair

Bobby Driscoll in The Window

GRIBICHE

Another vote for Victoire Thivisol in "Ponette."

Actually, although I posted about Freddie Bartholomew, grew up watching the gifted Hayley Mills, think the Our Gang kids were genius, and recognize that Shirley Temple at age 3 was a phenom, I think the single greatest child performance I've seen was by Ivan Jandl, 10/11 years old when he starred with Montgomery Clift in 1948's "The Search."

Corey Haim in The Lost Boys......he was amazing ❤️

Corey Haim was always very good at blinking with his mouth open.

Jamie Bell in Billy Eliot

^ you stole it fro me! Also the kid in My Life as a Dog.

Henry Thomas (E.T)

Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine)

Saoirse Ronan (Atonement)

Leo in This Boys Life

R77 Clift was so tender with that kid. I'll bet his presence helped a lot with the performance. I wonder what the kid went through in the war. Wasn't Zinneman the director? He also did Member of the Wedding, with wonderful Brandon de Wilde, who'd already done the play. Brandon was also fine in Shane.

Decades ago in SF high school I knew a kid with the last name of de Wilde and who looked just like Brandon. Turns out they were cousins.

Tatum in Paper Moon

Danny Lloyd as Danny Torrance (and Tony!) in The Shining

Brigitte Fossey in Forbidden Games

Ove Porath in The Virgin Spring

Bobby Henrey , The Fallen Idol

Herbert Halbik in The Third Man

Elizabeth Taylor, National Velvet

Luc Roeg in Walkabout

Tye Sheridan in Mud.

CZJ in Chicago

Dakota Fanning in I am Sam...brilliant

R88

It's child actors 16 and under, not 49 and under....

Don't know about greatest, but Peggy Ann Garner as young Jane in Jane Eyre is very good. And grows up to be Joan Fontaine!

I was but a sprout in Chicago. It was my talent that allowed me to convey a much more mature, worldly convict of unsurpassed grace.

Lukas Haas, "Witness"

Sam Bottoms, "The Last Picture Show"

I was but a sprout in Chicago. It was my talent that allowed me to convey a much more mature, worldly convict of unsurpassed grace.

—CZJ

reply 92

Uh-huh. It definitely took a lot of talent for a child like you to appear a year or two away from being able to apply for Social Security benefits.

Nell Potts -"No Mama, I don't hate the world"

"Linda Blair as Regan in The Exorcist. What an iconic goddess."

"Iconic goddess?" What are YOU on? By the way, her "performance" was made up of special effects. And the voice of Pazuzu was that of Mercedes McCambridge.

Jackie Coogan in "The Kid"

Jean-Pierre Léaud in “The 400 Blows"

Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement"

David Bradley in “Kes"

Ana Torrent in “The Spirit of the Beehive"

Martin Stephens in “The Innocents”

Enzo Staiola in “The Bicycle Thief"

Brigitte Fossey in “Forbidden Games”

David Bennent in “The Tin Drum”

Gaspard Manesse in “Au Revoir Les Enfants”

Salvatore Cascio in “Cinema Paradiso”

Victoire Thivisol in “Ponette"

Henry Thomas, and it isn't close.

Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz, of course.

I stick with Christian, but would definitely would put Freddie Highmore in Finding Neverland in the mix as well. Stunning.

I have a soft spot for Natalie Wood in Miracle on 34th Street.

[quote]Don't know about greatest, but Peggy Ann Garner as young Jane in Jane Eyre is very good. And grows up to be Joan Fontaine!

You say that as if it were something one might aspire to.

Ron Howard in The Courtship of Eddie’s Father.

Mara Hobel as Tina

Trevor Morgan in "A Rumor of Angels"

This thread begins and ends with Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale.

Judy was 16, too old for this thread. The winner by a mile is Henry Thomas.

OP says "16 and under." How is 16 too old for the thread?

Natalie Portman in Leon: T he Professional

Second a vote for Jackie Coogan. "The Kid" was on TCM Last night and I was blown away by his acting -- very funny and heartbreakingly sad. Can't believe that he grew up to be Uncle Fester!

Who could forget Mary Breen as Rainelle Downing, being led to the slaughter by Shirley Stoler in The Honeymoon Killers?

The little girl owns this sorry thread.

Ron Howard in The Music Man. He was adorable.

Any of my handpicked actors.

whuts wif da rumors tween spielburg and hims young stars?????

Another vote for Henry Thomas in E.T.

Bump. No one has still swayed me from Christian Bale in Empire.

How old was Kristen Bell when she did that incredible guest spot on Deadwood? She was scary good on that.

I once stumbled on to TCM's airing of "Captains Courageous" for Spencer Tracy's Oscar-winning performance. Actually Tracy wasn't that good, but I was blown away by young Freddie Bartholomew in the film. Very, very good.

As for TV, the two most natural kids on sitcoms had to be Ron Howard on "Andy Griffith", and Jerry Mathers on "Leave It To Beaver". They actually acted like kids, not mini-adults trying out one-liners.

jon benet ramsey

Just watched The Others on Starz. Those kids that played Nicole Kidman's children were fantastic. Great movie too.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas playing Randy Taylor on Home Improvement. ❤️ 😍

Corey Haim for Lucas instead of The Lost Boys. A much more sympathetic and touching performance as a tormented teenage outsider.

R118 24/25

R65 That Henry Thomas audition tape really is something impressive. The acting in the eyes alone is great.

I agree with others about Patty McCormick. Her scenes with LeRoy or Leroy (Henry Jones) I revisit often.

She’s sorta hit or miss, but I enjoyed Bridgette Andersen’s performance in Savannah Smiles. I’ll give her credit as she was 7 or so during filming. But she was likable and believable in the film. I remember as she got older, her was still holding onto (or maybe forced to by parents or directors) the “little girl” image, so her acting was not as great (around her appearance on Golden Girls).

R125 *she was still holding onto...

This may sound out of left field but Kurt Russell was in a old Disney movie Follow Me, Boys (1966) and his character's father was the town drunk. To this day, I've never seen a more accurate and emotional performance as when his dad shows up to the Cub Scout's 'Dad's Night' meeting obviously impaired and acting out. The pain on Kurt's face and his reactions were so believable it was honestly hard to watch. I don't know if he was well coached/directed but he put in a damn fine performance for a young actor.

Salvatore “Totò” Cascio in Cinema Paradiso

The movie is amazing and his performance is a huge part of it. If you've never seen it, give it a watch. You won't be disappointed. Plus, a lot of you might like how he grew up...

Sue Lyons - Lolita

Performances not mentioned yet - Elijah Wood in Paradise with Don Johnson and Melody Griffiths (I know!!), Haley Osment in Secondhand lions.

Another vote for Jean-Pierre Léaud.

This scene, of unbridled joy, always makes me cry.

The best performance of ALL time has got to be MacCauley Culkin in Home Alone. When he tucked himself into that big bed all alone...... damn! 🤤 ❤️ 🍆

Wow [R130]! I'd forgotten that movie. He was very very good in that wasn't he? Also impressive in The Good Son and Radio Flyer. Always thought he was underrated because he hasn't ever played the 'celebrity' game.

Keisha Castle-Hughes in Whale Rider. She was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar and deservedly so.