Finding a young actor who not only fits the bill but can also successfully portray the necessary emotions to keep the movie moving is difficult. Hollywood is a fickle industry and it happens often that a young person who was once a hot commodity in the industry gets quickly overlooked as they age. As kids develop in a tempting business, the enormous constraints placed upon them at such a young age sometimes prove too much for them to handle. These stars may struggle to cope with his or her sudden stardom and fall off the rails if the strain simply gets to be too great. These are the ones that made it through, however…
Here Are 10 Childhood Stars Who Continued Their Success Into Adulthood
Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore’s portrayal of the endearing Gertie in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial helped her become a household name as a young actor. The years that followed were quite difficult for Barrymore, during which time she battled alcoholism and drug addiction among other things. Fortunately, she had a solid support system, and they were able to turn her life around with Barrymore’s help and drive. Since then, she has developed into one of Hollywood’s most bankable actresses, having starred in a number of blockbuster films like the Charlie’s Angels series, 50 First Dates, and Never Been Kissed, to mention a few.
Drew Barrymore
Kurt Russell
One of Hollywood’s most admired and regarded actors, Kurt Russell has had a career spanning more than six decades. At the tender age of 11, Johnny made his film debut beside none other than Elvis Presley. He appeared in several Disney films as a child throughout the 1960s, and in the 1970s when he was given the role of the main man, he rose to prominence as Disney’s biggest star. His fame only increased in the 1980s as he gained a reputation for playing more mature characters. This was especially true when he teamed up with his old friend and partner John Carpenter on films like The Thing, Escape from New York, and Big Trouble in Little China.
Kurt Russell
Emma Watson
The Harry Potter cultural phenomenon swept the globe in the 1990s, and when the popular children’s book series was turned into a billion-dollar film franchise, its child-led cast was immediately catapulted into the spotlight. While many of them have experienced some success as adults—Daniel Radcliffe, in particular, has maintained a lucrative career in the indie film industry—Emma Watson has excelled at riding the wave of celebrity and fortune the longest. She gained recognition for her roles in films like The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Bling Ring after portraying the endearing bookworm Hermione in Harry Potter.
Emma Watson
Kirsten Dunst
Being cast as a young child in the epic vampire thriller Interview with the Vampire with actors like Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and Antonio Banderas catapulted Kirsten Dunst into the spotlight at a very young age. After that, she went on to make a big impression as a young child in a number of blockbuster films like Jumanji and Small Soldiers. She didn’t really break out to superstardom until 2002’s Spider-Man, though. The movie, which starred Mary Jane as Peter Parker’s love interest, made over $800 million worldwide.
Kirsten Dunst
Elijah Wood
Early roles in The Adventures of Huck Finn, Flipper, and the suspenseful drama The Good Son with fellow child actor Macaulay Culkin helped launch Elijah Wood’s career. After starring in Robert Rodriguez’s legendary horror film The Faculty, Wood shot to fame after playing the title character Frodo Baggins in the wildly popular Lord of the Rings trilogy, a role he would later reprise in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. He has made a conscious effort to avoid being typecast since gaining fame in Hollywood, though he still occasionally appears in big-budget films like Happy Feet 1 and 2 as the voice of the animated penguin Mumble.
Elijah Wood
Christina Ricci
As a young actress in the early to mid-1990s, Christina Ricci gained notoriety for her portrayals of slightly outlandish, sinister characters, most notably in The Addams Family and Casper. This pattern persisted into her adult years, when she won praise for her performances in hit films including Tim Burton’s gothic thriller Sleepy Hollow, the dystopian fantasy Penelope, and the biographical drama Monster, about a serial killer. She has gained popularity more recently on the popular TV program Yellowjackets, and it was just revealed that she has been cast as a series regular in the upcoming show, Wednesday.
Christina Ricci
Judy Garland
The journey that followed for Judy Garland, like so many others who gained stardom at an early age, was undoubtedly difficult. But unlike so many others in her situation, Garland persisted in a field with which she frequently felt at odds, and as a result, her later work is just as lauded as the times when she walked the yellow brick road as Dorothy, earning her an Oscar nomination for Judgment at Nuremberg in her final years.
Judy Garland
Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris rose to fame as the titular child prodigy doctor in Doogie Howser, M.D. after making a few minor film appearances as a child. Despite being somewhat typecast, he continued to work very consistently, appearing in both films and television. When he was cast as the womanizer Barney Stinson in the wildly successful TV series How I Met Your Mother, everything changed. He was able to break out of his comfort zone thanks to the character, making memorable cameos in Seth MacFarlane’s mockumentary A Million Ways to Die in the West and David Fincher’s contentious thriller Gone Girl.
Neil Patrick Harris
Jodie Foster
Despite having been in several TV shows and Disney films in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Jodie Foster didn’t become a household name until she starred with Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese’s pioneering psychological crime thriller Taxi Driver in 1976. Foster’s career as a performer has continued for a long time since Taxi Driver’s commercial success. During this time, she has been nominated for two Academy Awards: one for her performance in the courtroom drama The Accused and another for her portrayal of Clarice in the psychological horror film The Silence of the Lambs.
Jodie Foster
Natalie Portman
The path Portman took to success is comparable to that of the earlier mentioned Foster. In the acclaimed hitman thriller Leon: The Professional, which also starred Gary Oldman and Jean Reno, she made her significant film debut. Although the film was a critical and financial success, Portman’s character generated some controversy because of the sexualization of her character. Thankfully, her incredible skill has come through, and as she grew into an adult, her career continued to soar, bringing in a ton of money from the Star Wars prequels.
