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Best Child Actor Ever

Some child actors possess natural talent (the Fanning sisters), some have fantastic performances coaxed out of them (Tatum O'Neal), and some are cloying (Shirley Temple). Who do you think is the best of all time? Vote for one of these or comment with your own choice, y'all.

by Anonymousreply 157July 31, 2025 11:19 PM

Alfred Lutter, duh

by Anonymousreply 1April 19, 2022 4:10 AM

Not Tatum O'Neal. Eww.

by Anonymousreply 2April 19, 2022 4:11 AM

NONE of these.

i would vote for Victoire Thivisol, who played the title role in "Ponette."

by Anonymousreply 3April 19, 2022 4:12 AM

Billy Mumy

by Anonymousreply 4April 19, 2022 4:12 AM

Pamelyn Ferdin

by Anonymousreply 5April 19, 2022 4:14 AM

Henry Thomas in E.T.

by Anonymousreply 6April 19, 2022 4:15 AM

Quinn Cummings

by Anonymousreply 7April 19, 2022 4:15 AM

Also, the kid from Big Little Lies. He was incredible.

by Anonymousreply 8April 19, 2022 4:16 AM

R3 But she wasn’t that great in Chocolat.

by Anonymousreply 9April 19, 2022 4:17 AM

What about Bonnie Blue from GWTW? What about Cousin Oliver from Brady Brunch? What about Pia Zadora in Santa Claus Conquers the Martians?

by Anonymousreply 10April 19, 2022 4:19 AM

What about the Culkins? What about Jacob Tremblay?

by Anonymousreply 11April 19, 2022 4:21 AM

Kim Fields

by Anonymousreply 12April 19, 2022 4:23 AM

Haley Joel Eisenberg

by Anonymousreply 13April 19, 2022 4:24 AM

Kim Richards

by Anonymousreply 14April 19, 2022 4:24 AM

I was gonna ask about Elizabeth Taylor, who is obviously the greatest, but then I started thinking about Linda Blair ramming a crucifix into her va-jayjay and being raped by a broom handle in a TV movie so I voted for her.

by Anonymousreply 15April 19, 2022 4:24 AM

^she was also convincing as a teen alkie. And later convincing on roller skates.

by Anonymousreply 16April 19, 2022 4:26 AM

Baby Vance

by Anonymousreply 17April 19, 2022 4:27 AM

I recently rewatched "The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane" (a movie that could NEVER be made today) and Jodie Foster turned in a completely formed adult performance and matched Alexis Smith line for line. Scott Jacoby, never a great actor, really suffered in comparison to Jodie.

by Anonymousreply 18April 19, 2022 4:48 AM

Ana Torrent

by Anonymousreply 19April 19, 2022 5:06 AM

Bobs Watson - The Story of Alexander Graham Bell 53:00-56:05

Honorable mention: Danny Lloyd: The Shining Henry Thomas: Raggedy Man & ET Tyler Hoechlin: The Road to Perdition

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by Anonymousreply 20April 19, 2022 5:07 AM

there's only one true choice

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by Anonymousreply 21April 19, 2022 5:18 AM

Dean Stockwell

Christian Bale

Elijah Wood

by Anonymousreply 22April 19, 2022 5:41 AM

Kristen Stewart

by Anonymousreply 23April 19, 2022 5:50 AM

Ricky Schroeder

by Anonymousreply 24April 19, 2022 5:54 AM

Where the fuck is Nicholas Hoult? He's such a rare gem among boy actors.

by Anonymousreply 25April 19, 2022 5:56 AM

Freddie Bartholomew

by Anonymousreply 26April 19, 2022 6:07 AM

Christian Bale, Empire of the Sun

by Anonymousreply 27April 19, 2022 6:11 AM

R25 Because he was only good when he was little?

by Anonymousreply 28April 19, 2022 7:07 AM

Asa Butterfield?

by Anonymousreply 29April 19, 2022 7:18 AM

R25, oh, please. Now that we know you don't have any streaming subscriptions.

by Anonymousreply 30April 19, 2022 7:26 AM

Jodie shits all over all others.

by Anonymousreply 31April 19, 2022 7:32 AM

The little girl in "Annette" was amazing. Stole the movie.

by Anonymousreply 32April 19, 2022 7:49 AM

The Fanning horrors are by far the worst.

by Anonymousreply 33April 19, 2022 7:52 AM

Natalie Portman in Leon The Professional. She was funny, believable and not irritating.

by Anonymousreply 34April 19, 2022 8:03 AM

The children in Moonlight and The Florida Project were natural and believable. Most child actors make me want to vomit.

by Anonymousreply 35April 19, 2022 8:28 AM

Hands down, Sydney Lucas in her performance of Fun Home, this song portrays the impressive range that she has, but she sustained this level throughout the whole show. She was breathtaking to watch and listen too and she did it all effortlessly.

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by Anonymousreply 36April 19, 2022 9:15 AM

Any one of these are better than the ones listed:

Matthew Stymie Beard

Virginia Weidler

Spanky McFarland

Alfalfa Schweitzer

Mickey Rooney

Judy Garland

by Anonymousreply 37April 19, 2022 9:23 AM

Natalie Wood - Miracle on 34th Street. Her performance propelled the entire story.

by Anonymousreply 38April 19, 2022 9:29 AM

Jodie Foster is great.

But a poll that does not include the inimitable Hayley Mills and Patty Duke is meaningless. Personal favorite, more of a teen actor, Elinor Donahue.

by Anonymousreply 39April 19, 2022 9:44 AM

Kirsten Dunst

Mickey Rooney

Hayley Mills

To name three who should be on the list.

by Anonymousreply 40April 19, 2022 9:54 AM

And Roddy Macdowell, whose beautiful young performances on films like How Green Was My Valley are often forgotten.

by Anonymousreply 41April 19, 2022 9:57 AM

How can you even call this a list without Buck Mother Fucking Wheat?

Billie Thomas, AKA Buckwheat!

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by Anonymousreply 42April 19, 2022 10:12 AM

"Best Child Actor Ever"

The ones who say, "Yes", to a pool party invitation.

by Anonymousreply 43April 19, 2022 10:21 AM

Ronnie Howard best

Larry Matthews worst

by Anonymousreply 44April 19, 2022 10:37 AM

Thora Birch. She was the little girl in Patriot Games and the skeptical girl in the Miracle on 34th Street remake. She was in a film with Elijah Wood called "Paradise." Great little film.

by Anonymousreply 45April 19, 2022 11:12 AM

r45 Mara Wilson was in Miracle on 34th Street. Thora Birch was in a non-classic called All I want for Christmas.

by Anonymousreply 46April 19, 2022 11:55 AM

Though as far as I know she only ever made one film as a child Mary Badham in To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the greats.

by Anonymousreply 47April 19, 2022 12:48 PM

Drew Barrymore.

by Anonymousreply 48April 19, 2022 8:34 PM

Lindsey Lohan

The Bitch played twins when she was only 11!

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by Anonymousreply 49April 21, 2022 12:04 PM

^^^^^ Lindsay Lohan

by Anonymousreply 50April 21, 2022 12:05 PM

Single performance, Patty McCormack in 'The Bad Seed"

by Anonymousreply 51April 21, 2022 12:28 PM

Virginia Weidler. Mara Wilson.

by Anonymousreply 52April 21, 2022 12:36 PM

Mara Wilson was the best part of the remake but the movie itself was poor.

by Anonymousreply 53April 21, 2022 1:43 PM

I'm thinking Jodie Foster, but I'm also glad someone mentioned Elijah Wood and Patty Duke.

by Anonymousreply 54April 21, 2022 2:46 PM

Jacob Tremblay is very good.

by Anonymousreply 55July 27, 2025 3:54 PM

The Claude kid with the deer and Gregory Peck.

by Anonymousreply 56July 27, 2025 4:05 PM

Hunter Carson, Karen Black's son was really good in Paris, Texas. It was his first role. He wasn't in anything significant afterwards

by Anonymousreply 57July 27, 2025 4:21 PM

Kristy McNichol. She could convey six different emotions before uttering a single line.

by Anonymousreply 58July 27, 2025 4:21 PM

Patty McCormack and Patty Duke gave complex, powerhouse performances in the movies for which each was nominated for the Oscar, with Duke winning in 1963. They each also had pretty good careers as adult actors, and each could jump between comedy and drama. Jodie Foster was a good actor as a child, but she comes across as cold and humorless as an adult actor.

by Anonymousreply 59July 27, 2025 4:55 PM

JUDY FUCKING GARLAND, OP. GFY.

by Anonymousreply 60July 27, 2025 5:02 PM

R3, it’s a fucking amazing performance. Genuinely staggering.

by Anonymousreply 61July 27, 2025 5:02 PM

Jodie was incredible in Taxi Driver

Kirsten Dunst was great in Interview With the Vampire and Little Women

by Anonymousreply 62July 27, 2025 5:04 PM

Judy.

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by Anonymousreply 63July 27, 2025 5:06 PM

History.

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by Anonymousreply 64July 27, 2025 5:07 PM

Abigail Breslin

by Anonymousreply 65July 27, 2025 5:10 PM

Glad to see Jodie is leading the poll. Her run of performances in the 70s will probably never be equalled. And I think her performance in Taxi Driver is the best juvenile performance committed to film.

by Anonymousreply 66July 27, 2025 5:11 PM

Anna Pauquin in The Piano

by Anonymousreply 67July 27, 2025 5:12 PM

Claude Jarman, Jr from The Yearling was a good child actor

by Anonymousreply 68July 27, 2025 5:12 PM

People toss around 'child star' way too loosely. Shirley Temple wasn’t just a child star, she was a full-blown industry. Between the ages of 3 and 10, she made 29 films. Not YouTube shorts, not commercials, actual feature-length Hollywood movies. That kind of output from a kid is unheard of.

And she wasn’t just working, she was 'carrying' the studio. Adjusted for inflation, her films pulled in around 3 BILLION dollars. Billion. With a B. During the Depression. She kept Fox Studios alive when no one else could.

No other kid before or since has done that. Not even close. And for the record, I’m not even a Shirley Temple fan. Not my thing. But facts are facts.

by Anonymousreply 69July 27, 2025 5:14 PM

Yeah, what R59 said!

Literally, Helen Keller could tell you the answer to this question, OP.

by Anonymousreply 70July 27, 2025 5:15 PM

r69, Shirley Temple's box office success that little to do with whether she was a good child actor or not.

For example, Barbara Cartland sold 500 million books, but that does not make her one of the greatest novelists of all time.

by Anonymousreply 71July 27, 2025 5:19 PM

6.1 percent you motherfuckers? At least more of you voted for me than my sister. I think it's rather hilarious that Miss Flabigail Breslin did not make OP's list. Thank fucking Christ for that.

by Anonymousreply 72July 27, 2025 5:21 PM

And your mother sucks donkey dicks in hell, R33.

by Anonymousreply 73July 27, 2025 5:23 PM

Welp, I’ve gone full Shirley spiral rabbit hole, curls, dimples, and all:

People forget just how freakishly talented Shirley Temple was. This wasn’t just a cute kid smiling on cue, she was singing on pitch, tap dancing in complex routines, and acting circles around adults. It was reported she picked up Bill Robinson’s choreography just by LISTENING to his FEET.

by Anonymousreply 74July 27, 2025 5:24 PM

Shirley Temple wasn't much of a child actress. She just mugged a lot for the camera.

But she was a GREAT child dancer. That and being exceptionally adorable were her genuine talents.

Here she is dancing with Buddy Ebsen in "Captain January." (I will also give that she can stay more or less on pitch while he cannot.)

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by Anonymousreply 75July 27, 2025 5:33 PM

Chiming in for Dean Stockwell.

Loved Connie Marshall, too. Her performance as a physically abused child in Daisy Kenyon was outstanding.

And let's not forget Billy Gray.

by Anonymousreply 76July 27, 2025 5:58 PM

Judy Garland.

Elizabeth Taylor.

Roddy McDowall.

Margaret O'Brien was pretty great (Orson Welles thought so).

Peggy Ann Garner.

Claude Jarman, Jr.

Ivan Jandl (the kid in The Search, w/ Montgomery Clift.) Won a special Oscar.

Dean Stockwell.

by Anonymousreply 77July 27, 2025 6:00 PM

That kid in A Thousand Clowns was so good, too.

Barry Gordon (had to look him up).

by Anonymousreply 78July 27, 2025 6:01 PM

Brandon deWilde, especially in SHANE, was an outstanding really young actor.

by Anonymousreply 79July 27, 2025 6:34 PM

Brooke Shields

Regina King

Jackie Cooper

Roddy McDowall

Baby Peggy

Ethan Cutkosky

Malcolm-Jamal Warner

All the "Little Rascals" (including Petey)

by Anonymousreply 80July 27, 2025 6:36 PM

Connie Marshall was weird and zombie-like but effective.

by Anonymousreply 81July 27, 2025 6:39 PM

Melissa Gilbert wasn't bad.

The old-movie child actors seemed better, though.

by Anonymousreply 82July 27, 2025 6:42 PM

René Poyen.

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by Anonymousreply 83July 27, 2025 6:43 PM

Natalie Wood.

by Anonymousreply 84July 27, 2025 6:43 PM

Jean-Pierre Léaud, in The 400 Blows.

Brilliant.

by Anonymousreply 85July 27, 2025 6:44 PM

C. Thomas Howell in The Outsiders.

by Anonymousreply 86July 27, 2025 6:45 PM

Martin Stephens in The Innocents 1961 and Village of the Damned 1960

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by Anonymousreply 87July 27, 2025 6:53 PM

I can't believe Margaret O'Brien has received so little attention for where performance as hypochondriac, chronic liar and general psycho in Meet Me In St. Louis. Granted, she was hammy as hell but her scenes with Judy Garland were quite good.

By the time she was in Little Women, her cute affectation had become tiresome. She made Beth even more insufferable than she already was. I can see why she never became an adult actor. But Tootie is still a great performance.

by Anonymousreply 88July 27, 2025 7:08 PM

Only one brief mention of Peggy Ann Garner, by far the best child actor of the classic period?

She was a plain, blond little girl, with a direct, open way with a line and an expressive face that showed every emotion. Great in her brief role in “Jane Eyre,” her finest hour is probably “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” She’s fun as the adolescent girl at the center of “Junior Miss,” but to see her as an adult actor is to see a conventionally down-to-earth character not-very-pretty actress who along the way had lost the freshness of her early work. She’s terrible and looks ghastly in the Technicolor film noir murder mystery “Black Widow.”

When studying acting as an adult, she got the idea her early work and technique was bad and that she wasn’t a ‘real’ actress. Her first husband actor Albert Salmi was a major underminer. And she died young. It’s a pity.

by Anonymousreply 89July 27, 2025 7:09 PM

Macaulay Culkin. Box office receipts, anyone?

by Anonymousreply 90July 27, 2025 7:10 PM

Recently I watched "Carnage," a purposely stage-y version of the stage play. Kate Winslet, John C. Reilly, Christoph Waltz and Jodie Foster were the stars. All were terrific, but, yes, Jodie stole the thing. She's always been a character actor who gets leading lady parts.

by Anonymousreply 91July 27, 2025 7:41 PM

Margaret O'Brien was very good in Our Vines Have Tender Grapes. She was also good as June Allyson's little sister in Music For Millions. Considering she could have been very annoying with that voice of hers, she wasn't.

by Anonymousreply 92July 27, 2025 7:53 PM

Jane Powell was pretty good, too, though she was better as an adult.

by Anonymousreply 93July 27, 2025 7:55 PM

Fuck Jacob Tremblay!

by Anonymousreply 94July 27, 2025 8:15 PM

Sparky McFarland was such a natural when he was a little guy. He grew out of his naturalness as he aged up, but he was such a personality!

Same for Matthew “Stymie” Beard. Dickie Moore, Beard’s “Our Gang” costar and best friend, was also an actor of some depth at a young age.

All of them are in the short I attached.

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by Anonymousreply 95July 27, 2025 8:42 PM

R94. I accept that challenge!

by Anonymousreply 96July 27, 2025 9:19 PM

Did Jodie Foster give many great performances as a child? She was a teen by the time Taxi Driver came out. She was great in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane.

Anything else pre-teenage years?

by Anonymousreply 97July 28, 2025 2:05 AM

Jodie as Joey

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by Anonymousreply 98July 28, 2025 5:29 AM

Financial notes on some child actors, post-Coogan Act:

Although taxes were paid on Hayley Mills' earnings from 1959-1966 the British equivalent of the I.R.S. took over 90% of this income. She fought them for seven years to no avail.

When Shirley Temple retired in the late 1940s, she found that her father had squandered her income and she was left with very little.

Johnny Whitaker (Family Affair) income enhanced his family's lifestyle. I think he was left with nothing.

by Anonymousreply 99July 28, 2025 6:11 AM

David Henesy as "David Collins" in Dark Shadows (1966-70)

277 episodes of scripts that he had to perform live-to-tape.

by Anonymousreply 100July 28, 2025 6:18 AM

What about Kristen Dunst? She matched Tom Cruise & Brad Pitt (no big lift I know, but still) note for note in Interview With A Vampire

by Anonymousreply 101July 28, 2025 7:47 AM

Patty Duke in 'The Miracle Worker"

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by Anonymousreply 102July 28, 2025 8:38 AM

And can we acknowledge that David Henesy has his lines down as compared to, say Joan Bennett or Jonathan Frid?

by Anonymousreply 103July 28, 2025 10:13 AM

The correct answer is Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. Next: Jackie Cooper in The Champ

by Anonymousreply 104July 28, 2025 10:45 AM

Scott Jacoby won an Emmy as a kid in the groundbreaking TV movie That Certain Summer.

He was also great in The Little Girl who Lives Down the Lane.

by Anonymousreply 105July 28, 2025 11:47 AM

Rodney Allen Rippy

by Anonymousreply 106July 28, 2025 11:50 AM

Mason Reese

by Anonymousreply 107July 28, 2025 11:50 AM

Hayley Mills

Pamela Franklin

by Anonymousreply 108July 28, 2025 12:29 PM

Noah Jupe was really good in Wonder and A Quiet Place

by Anonymousreply 109July 28, 2025 12:47 PM

WHAT? This is DL and we do not even nominate the star of the most watched movie in the WORLD? For God sakes, Judy Garland owns this thread. Period!

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by Anonymousreply 110July 28, 2025 12:49 PM

Jane Withers, I would also like to mention that I sold a caftan to Margaret O'Brien.

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by Anonymousreply 111July 28, 2025 2:09 PM

Brad Renfro.

Even the Bryan Singer trolls seem to have forgotten him.

by Anonymousreply 112July 28, 2025 2:20 PM

Dickie Moore eventually married Jane Powell when they were older.

by Anonymousreply 113July 28, 2025 2:52 PM

Billy Chapin. The kid in The Night of the Hunter. Brother of Father Knows Best's Lauren Chapin.

by Anonymousreply 114July 28, 2025 2:55 PM

George "Foghorn" Winslow

by Anonymousreply 115July 28, 2025 2:56 PM

Baby Leroy

by Anonymousreply 116July 28, 2025 3:01 PM

Baby Peggy

by Anonymousreply 117July 28, 2025 3:12 PM

Jodie was 12 when Taxi Driver was shot.

by Anonymousreply 118July 28, 2025 3:15 PM

I don't know if he was the best child actor ever but I've never forgotten Enzo Staiola who, at the age of 8, played the role of the son in Vittorio de Sicca 1948 film, BICYCLES THIEVES. The last scene where he holds his (humiliated) father's hand still brings tears to my eyes every time. I just watched it and I am crying. Beautiful raw performances by both actors rarely, if ever, seen in a Hollywood movie.

by Anonymousreply 119July 28, 2025 3:17 PM

R69 not to mention, Shirley Temple (b. 1928) was the #1 movie star for 4 straight years -- 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938.

In 1934 she was #8, and in 1939 she was #5.

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by Anonymousreply 120July 28, 2025 3:17 PM

Oops, forgot to post the link:

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by Anonymousreply 121July 28, 2025 3:18 PM

I like that baby who was always playing with sharp knives in the Icicle Thief.

by Anonymousreply 122July 28, 2025 3:21 PM

The kid in Summertime with Katharine Hepburn was good.

by Anonymousreply 123July 28, 2025 3:22 PM

Just saw this on MSN right now. Published 11 hrs ago. Kristy McNichol. 62. "Nearly unrecognizable." They say. I think I'd recognize her.

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by Anonymousreply 124July 28, 2025 3:24 PM

Of course there was Bobby (Robert) Blake. He was actually a very good child actor (in Treasure of the Sierra Madre and a lot of other movies of the time.)

by Anonymousreply 125July 28, 2025 3:26 PM

Baby Rose Marie

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by Anonymousreply 126July 28, 2025 3:27 PM

That documentary about her (and with her), Wait for Your Laugh, is really great. (Rose Marie.)

by Anonymousreply 127July 28, 2025 3:29 PM

Jackie Coogan in "The Kid." More than held his old vs Chaplin.

Here he is in a Criterion interview from later in life, reflecting on the film.

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by Anonymousreply 128July 28, 2025 3:29 PM

Manuel Padilla

by Anonymousreply 129July 28, 2025 3:29 PM

No love for Mara Hobel? You little homosexual boys are slipping.

by Anonymousreply 130July 28, 2025 3:31 PM

Why can't posters just nominate someone they like rather than tediously complain that other people haven't nominated that person before ("you bitches are slipping")?

by Anonymousreply 131July 28, 2025 3:37 PM

[quote]Patty McCormack and Patty Duke gave complex, powerhouse performances in the movies for which each was nominated for the Oscar, with Duke winning in 1963. They each also had pretty good careers as adult actors, and each could jump between comedy and drama.

Incidentally, Patty McCormack was the first to play Helen Keller in William Gibson's THE MIRACLE WORKER when it premiered on television in 1957 on the CBS anthology drama series PLAYHOUSE 90.

Teresa Wright co-starred as Anne Sullivan.

The program was so well-received, they decided to bring it to Broadway in 1959.

Both Wright and McCormack were unavailable, so Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke were cast instead.

And the rest is history.

by Anonymousreply 132July 28, 2025 3:43 PM

Casted

by Anonymousreply 133July 28, 2025 3:46 PM

Mickey Rooney

by Anonymousreply 134July 28, 2025 4:11 PM

Freddie Bartholomew

by Anonymousreply 135July 28, 2025 4:12 PM

Coogan also gets extra credit (in my book) for growing up to 1) sue his parents for mismanaging his childhood earnings in the landmark case that became the California Child Actor's Bill (i.e. "The Coogan Law") and 2) become the very first Uncle Fester on TV's "Addams Family."

by Anonymousreply 136July 28, 2025 4:24 PM

Jackie Cooper

by Anonymousreply 137July 28, 2025 4:33 PM

Jackie Coogan said playing Uncle Fester was his favorite role.

If you want to read a good book about the child stars of yore, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (But Don’t Have Sex or Take the Car) by Dickie Moore is wonderful. He became a journalist later in life and wrote this book in the early 80s. He was the last person to interview Natalie Wood.

by Anonymousreply 138July 28, 2025 4:58 PM

Jackie Coogan's first wife was Betty Grable, who was the biggest female film star during the WW2 era.

by Anonymousreply 139July 28, 2025 5:08 PM

One of the greatest performances by a child (although it became understood it wasn't so much of a performance as a real life depiction) was Fernando Ramos Da Silva in Babenco's "Pixote". Canby said he had one of the most expressive faces ever on screen. Even though the movie was not shot chronologically, his sweet innocent face grows harder, angrier as the movie progresses.

by Anonymousreply 140July 28, 2025 5:09 PM

Scorsese on Pixote and Ramos Da Silva.

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by Anonymousreply 141July 28, 2025 5:26 PM

[quote]Baby Rose Marie

My 102 year old mother has an autographed photo of Baby Rose Marie. Kept it all these years.

by Anonymousreply 142July 28, 2025 8:27 PM

R138 another great one is Hollywood’s Children by Diana Serra Carey aka Baby Peggy.

by Anonymousreply 143July 28, 2025 9:40 PM

Enzo Staiola is also the first I think of when this question comes up—and not just for the final scenes—so I was sad to read he died at the beginning of last month.

by Anonymousreply 144July 28, 2025 10:11 PM

It pains me to say it, but Jackie Coogan's star turn in "The Kid" wasn't the only memorable, if darkly auspicious, performance by a child actor in that film.

Lita Grey appears as the "Flirting Angel" who woos Chaplin during the Dreamland sequence ("Sin creeps in." "Vamp Him!"). Twelve years old at the time (in 1921), she became physically involved with him 3 years later, and he married her the following year (when she was 16 and he was 35). It's really uncomfortable to see the clip in this day and age, because she plainly looks like a kid.

A very hazardous profession with no protection for kids, and total immunity for those with star power and studio pull (as Chaplin had in spades at that time).

by Anonymousreply 145July 28, 2025 10:20 PM

...Also, can't believe we've made to 146 replies in this thread, and DL hasn't yet mentioned the performance by Huckleberry Fox in "Terms of Endearment."

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by Anonymousreply 146July 28, 2025 10:24 PM

Jodie has been great since the start. I wish she'd make another film, she deserves another Oscar as much as Katherine Heipburn.

by Anonymousreply 147July 28, 2025 10:30 PM

Was bored, threw the show on just to have something in the background while I cleaned up. Next thing I know, I'm glued to the screen, totally transfixed. Watching on HBO, though I think it's airing elsewhere too.

Only thing I can't wrap my head around: how the hell were people holding up their phones filming all that chaos? I'd have dropped mine in pure terror.

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by Anonymousreply 148July 29, 2025 12:41 AM

^^Oops wrong thread^^

by Anonymousreply 149July 29, 2025 12:43 AM

Kodi Smit-McPhee in The Road

by Anonymousreply 150July 29, 2025 12:50 AM

I picked Jodie Foster, but imo I think it's Christian Bale. As someone posted above watch him in Empire of the Sun.

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by Anonymousreply 151July 29, 2025 1:07 AM

There’s also Owen Cooper, the kid in Netflix’s “Adolescence.” He is amazing and could win an Emmy this season.

by Anonymousreply 152July 29, 2025 2:59 AM

Another for Henry Thomas in E.T.

by Anonymousreply 153July 29, 2025 3:19 AM

Owen Cooper, I have a feeling he's going to win the Emmy.

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by Anonymousreply 154July 31, 2025 7:59 PM

R90: Stymie!! As a lover of artichokes (from the time I was a little kid), the line from Little Rascals that has stuck with me for 50+ years: "It may have choked Artie, but it ain't goin' choke Stymie!"

by Anonymousreply 155July 31, 2025 9:22 PM

Oops, meant to type R95 above.....

by Anonymousreply 156July 31, 2025 9:23 PM

Reply 20 (re: Alexander Graham Bell movie), in the 40s, when you made a call, one would say. "I gotta make a quick Ameche."

by Anonymousreply 157July 31, 2025 11:19 PM
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