You have definitely seen them all at some point in the past, but we are sure you have
no idea what they look like now. Welcome to Rumour Juice, subscribe to our channel, make
yourself comfortable and get ready for our new exciting video about the child actors
who have changed beyond recognition since you first saw them.
Jonathan Lipnicki This kid became a Hollywood sensation before
even reaching the age of 10. There is arguably no child star more adorable than Jonathan
as seen in the movies Jerry Maguire and Stuart Little.
Lipnicki who took a break from acting after enjoying years of a successful career as a
child, has changed so much that he is barely recognizable nowadays.
Throughout his life, Jonathan has been battling severe anxiety and depression, which the 29-year-old
has always been open about during interviews. Lipnicki revealed that school mates had been
making fun of him as a kid saying he would never book an acting job again.
Jonathan disclosed: "I was made feel like garbage every day of
middle school to the point I had a panic attack every night before school, because I wondered
how I would get throughout the next day."
The young man confessed that there was not a single day in middle school when he returned
home without being called offensive names. This traumatic experience resulted in serious
mental health problems and long-time treatment.
Luckily, he seems to have managed to take things under control. Moreover, he continues
acting and has definitely come a long way since his debut role. Any need to mention
his amazing shape? We don't think so. Just look at him!
Jerry O’Connell Obviously, not every child actor manages to
stay on top of Hollywood stardom. But Jerry O'Connel has definitely nailed how to do it.
When he first appeared in the 80s coming of age film Stand By Me, no one expected this
adorable chunky boy to blossom into such a stud!
Interestingly, O’Connell still hates talking about Stand by Me because by the time the
film was out, the young actor already lost a lot of weight and people simply didn't recognize
him in the movie.
“I didn’t get recognized, and I’ll tell you why. It’s really funny. I was husky
as a child. I was fat. In between making Stand by Me and it coming out, I went through puberty.
I got tall. I’m a tall guy. I just stretched out.
It is not surprising that the 46-year-old feels uncomfortable when fans get fixated
on his portly childhood. Let us not forget, however, that in 1987, O'Connell won a Young
Artists Award for his role in Stand by Me. After all, it is not just about the looks,
but what is more important: about his talent and great performance!
Neil Patrick Harris Not many know that, but the How I Met Your
Mother star, Neil Patrick Harris, used to play a child prodigy doctor on the hit television
program Doogie Howser, M.D. And
it was legen… wait for it… dary! So legendary that the teenager was nominated for a Golden
Globe for his role.
The 47-year-old who is best known for his part of womanizer Barney Stinson on the iconic
CBS show, recalls the start of his career with fondness saying:
"That was a very remarkably wonderful chapter for somebody who had never really been in
the entertainment business before."
Edward Furlong In 1991, when Terminator 2: Judgement Day
was released, critics praised the surprisingly soulful performance of teenager Edward Furlong
aka John Connor. They could hardly believe it was the boy’s first role ever.
His career was on the rise and he was literally destined to become a household name, but a
lot of things were happening with the young man at the time, including custody battles
between his mom and aunt and relationship with a woman twice his age.
His career made a slight up-tick in 1997 when he starred as the younger brother to Edward
Norton in American History X. The next thing we know is the actor already battling heavy
addiction to heroin, cocaine and alcohol, hospitalization and overdose, arrests and
a series of stints in rehab.
Furlong was also arrested several times over domestic violence and served 61 days in jail
for violating his probation.
Edward who is now 42, seems to be doing quite alright, but unfortunately he has never made
it big in Hollywood again. At least not yet.
Steven Anthony Lawrence You must remember this boy for his recurring
role as Bernard "Beans" in the hit Disney Channel original series Even Stevens - the
show that first shoved Shia LaBeouf into that spotlight he now so famously hates.
After his stint on Even Stevens, Lawrence's acting career seemed to be getting off to
a flying start, with him having garnered roles in several famous productions. However, years
later, even despite having been in quite a number of movies since his Even Stevens days,
Lawrence says he still can't shake off the 'Beans' tag.
"It's really weird. I feel like I've changed so much when I look in the mirror. I don't
know how people even barely recognize me. But I'll be walking down the street and people
drive by for two seconds and automatically they'll go, "Oh, my God! You're Beans! Ahhh!"
God, even I would have to at least do a double-take."
Over the past few years we have not seen Lawrence much on TV. He mostly dedicates his time to
teaching kids which he compares to (quote) "almost like working the stage. It’s instant
gratification when something clicks for a student.”
In 2015, Lawrence was spotted working at a Calfiornian mall. Fans were overjoyed by this
unexpected blast from their past, and Lawrence was very accommodating about posing for selfies.
So, we bet people would be even more excited to see Lawrence in action again! WE would,
for sure!
Haley Joel Osment For many of us, Osment will remain the boy
from the Sixth Sense. Well, the boy is 32 already but he still has this adorable childish
sparkle in his eyes.
Haley Joel Osment was just eleven when he played the little guy who could see dead people.
He instantly became the breakout star of the movie and was even nominated for the Academy
Award for Best Supporting Actor. When he auditioned for the role, the movie director had already
watched scores of other children. But when he saw Osment performing the dialogue, he
was simply startled.
We all were, to be honest. If you are not crying watching this scene, then come on!
What's wrong with you??
Anyway, after the Sith Sense he appeared as a lead in several high-profile Hollywood movies,
including Artificial Intelligence and Pay It Forward.
He was growing up in front of our eyes. But… something happened. And that something is:
he grew up and stopped being a child. In 2006, Osment was charged with driving under the
influence at 18 years old, something he took full responsibility for. Osment was sentenced
to three years of probation and numerous hours in alcohol education programs.
In his 2015 interview, Osment told the Telegraph that he realized it would be hard to transition
from a child actor into an adult actor:
"When you get lucky as I did and work on some amazing films at a young age, one of the career
drawbacks is that the image of you as a child is burned into people's minds for a long time…
But for an actor it's important to keep diversifying and hope that people will see the span of
your work rather than just that moment in time."
Osment has recently been in the Netflix and Amazon productions, but we are yet to see
him as a lead in some big Hollywood movie. Hopefully, very soon!
Macaulay Culkin And of course this list wouldn't be complete
without the Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin who will turn 40 this August. When the iconic
Christmas movie was released, Culkin was 10. Even three decades later, the first thing
you can think of upon seeing the adult actor is a little guy who was confronting burglars
all by himself.
After a rather questionable run in 1994, when Culkin starred in 3 movies none of which fared
too well, the teenage actor slowly faded into the backdrop. He took a break in acting to
live a normal life for a while.
His adult acting career didn’t take off as well as his childhood career did, but he
looks and sounds like he is doing great. Culkin has recently revealed how he tried to get
a role in Quentin Tarantino's movie Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. And that didn't go well
at all.
He said: “It was a disaster. I wouldn’t have hired
me. I’m terrible at auditioning anyway, and this was my first audition in like eight
years.”
Well, the sensational return didn't happen, but you've got to start with something, even
if you are the one and only Macaulay Culkin.
That's all for today! Let us know what you want our next video to be about! And don't
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