What was your job when you were four years old?
If you didn’t have one, congratulations, you’re normal.
However that’s not always the case, for some of the stars on our list, they were already
working towards becoming the famous actors that they are today.
Everyone knows about Neil Patrick Harris being a child star, but what about some of the lesser-known
stories?
Here is our list of 10 Famous Actors You Didn’t Know Were Child Stars!
Enjoy the video and be sure to hit the subscribe button for more Screen Rant content, every
single day!
Scarlett Johansson In recent years, Scarlett Johansson has become
one of the most dependable box office babes in Hollywood.
She can do everything from action packed Marvel movies to psychological thrillers and she
looks damn good doing it.
Scarjo is no newcomer to the industry, though, as she was actually a child star.
Back in 1994 she was in the movie North with Elijah Wood and she was only nine years old
at the time.
Young Johansson continued to work on multiple small movies and TV shows until she matured
into the beauty that she is today and sky rocketed to the top of every casting directors
wish list.
Ryan Reynolds Ryan Reynolds is one of the most liked and
respected men working in Hollywood right now and the whole world really fell in love with
the Canadian actor after his incredible performance as Deadpool.
It’s pretty safe to say that Reynolds will have no trouble finding work in the coming
years, but as it turns out, he actually got his start in the business at a pretty young
age.
When Ryan Reynolds was 15 years old he snagged himself a recurring role on the show Fifteen
or Hillside as Billy Simpson in.
The teen drama was produced by Nickelodeon and dealt with issues like drugs and alcohol.
Ariel Winter Ariel Winter has been playing the nerdy Alex
Dunphy on the hit comedy Modern Family for years now, but it turns out her career actually
started at a much younger age.
When the actress was four years old she actually starred in a Cool Whip commercial, which means
that she has been working for over fifteen years now.
It seems like Ariel was always determined to succeed as she had no problem dying her
hair black at the age of seven because someone told her it would help her land roles.
Winter has recently matured into quite a stunning woman who has no problem flaunting what she’s
got.
Rose Byrne Rose Byrne is sneakily becoming one of the
biggest names in comedy.
She’s recently been in Spy, Neighbors (and it’s sequel), This is Where I Leave You
and Bridesmaids to name a few.
Hollywood seems to be falling in love with Byrne but chances are that most audience members
don’t know that she has been working for a long time.
Byrne’s first role came when she was 13 years old in 1994 in a movie called Dallas
Doll.
She then continued to do TV work in Australia until she later broke into the Hollywood movie
scene.
We expect her career to continue to ascend as she continues to rack up great performances.
Joaquin Phoenix There is no denying that Joaquin Phoenix is
one of the weirdest people in Hollywood, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t incredibly
talented.
People mostly recognize Phoenix from his Oscar nominated work but people probably don’t
know much about his work as a child actor.
He started out with small parts on television shows and his first role was on Seven Brides
for Seven Brother in 1982 when he was only eight years old.
Back then you wouldn’t have called him “Joaquin” though as he spent the early years of his
career being credit as “Leaf Phoenix”.
It wasn’t until many years later that he made the switch to Joaquin, prompting years
and years of people mispronouncing his name.
Jake Gyllenhaal Jake Gyllenhaal could be one of the most underrated
actors working today as he already has a very impressive resume including films like has
a pretty serious career with movies like Donnie Darko, Nightcrawler, and Brokeback Mountain.
But what many people probably don’t know is that the actor got a really early start
on his career.
He played the little boy named Danny Robbins in 1991’s City Slickers with Billy Crystal.
He went on to be Leon in Josh and S.A.M., where two young brothers go on a crazy cross-country
adventure together.
This is where he came across Martha Plimpton, who he had a crush on.
Christian Bale Christian Bale is one of the most respected
actors working today and he has racked up some amazing performances in movies like The
Prestige, The Big Short and of course Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
Most child stars start out with goofy or somewhat embarrassing roles, but that certainly is
not the case with Bale.
Back in 1987, Christian Bale got his big break when he landed a leading role in Spielberg’s
film, Empire of the Sun, which is pretty impressive seeing as he was only thirteen years old at
the time.
Only 42 years young, it looks like the world is going to get to see many more years of
great Christian Bale performances!
Natalie Portman Anyone who saw a 12-year-old Portman in Léon:
The Professional knew she'd eventually end up winning an Oscar.
Portman took home the Best Actress honor for her role in Black Swan and there is already
award buzz surrounding her latest film, Jackie.
Portman is as talented as she is stunning and it is no surprise that she has been able
to mature so well from a child star to a bankable leading woman.
Portman has done a bit of everything from Star Wars, to Marvel movies to Oscar-bait
films and we can only imagine that she will continue to impress with her next performances.
Ryan Gosling Some people were surprised to see the studly
Ryan Gosling singing and dancing in the critically acclaimed La La Land, but true fans of his
know that he is actually just returning to his roots.
Ryan Gosling was a child star when he was a part of the famous Mickey Mouse club.
While many of his co-stars like Brittany Spears and Justin Timberlake continued on the singing
path, Gosling decided to turn his focus towards acting.
It seems like it was the right call as he has undoubtedly blossomed into one of the
biggest male stars in Hollywood.
That being said, it is nice to see him singing and dancing again, just like the
old days!
Chloe Grace Moretz Chloe Grace Moretz is one of the hottest young
names in Hollywood and she seems to be popping up all over the place these days.
Lately, she is undeniably garnering more attention for her great and matured looks but she is
definitely not new to the spotlight as she is already somewhat of a Hollywood veteran,
even though she is yet to turn twenty.
Moretz started working at the age of seven on the TV Show The Guardian and then her big
break came the next year when she starred in the remake of The Amityville Horror.
This great performance helped her land the Hit-Girl role in Kick-Ass and it seems like
she hasn’t stopped working since.
Chloe Grace Moretz is now maturing into a beautiful, smart and talented young woman
and she is definitely an example of a child star growing up properly!
So there’s our list of ten famous actors you didn’t know were child stars.
Which one of these actors did you not know about?
Which actor on this list do you think is the most talented?
Let us know in the comments section below and be sure to subscribe to our channel for
more fun videos – like this one!