We often hear stories about child stars going off the rails and their promising careers coming to an abrupt end. Or we have to watch them slowly destroying their careers and themselves in front of the tabloids and think what a waste of potential it is. We all know who these child stars are but we tend to forget about the ones who have actually gone on to have successful adult careers. In this list we congratulate a host of child stars who have managed to do what often seems impossible and transitioned from child star to successful working adult.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Started acting at age 7
Gordon-Levitt is pretty much a household name. He has starred in some big budget movies and had a very successful TV career. Shocking when you realise that he started in the business at the young age of 7 and would probably have been forgiven if he was no longer working so hard.
Drew Barrymore
Started acting at age 7
Drew Barrymore stole everyone’s heart in E.T. and proved than even at such a young age she had what it takes to be a successful actor. However, she did go off the rails for a while and developed problems with alcohol and drugs. After facing her demons though she came back and has become an incredibly successful actor, director and all-round movie person!
Christian Bale
Started acting at age 13
With an acting career that started in his teens, Christian Bale could have gone off the rails quickly. Instead he has enjoyed a very successful career with highlights such as playing Batman and winning Golden Globes. Not many child stars can say they went on to achieve that!
Ethan Hawke
Started acting at age 15
Ethan Hawke was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Explorers, the first movie he ever appeared in. This showed the potential of his acting career. Hawke definitely chose the right path as he has gone on to appear in an enormous amount of movies and pretty much worked constantly since he started at age 15.
Natalie Portman
Started acting at age 13
Natalie Portman’s acting career may have started at age 13 but she had been working long before this. From the age of 4 she was performing with dance troupes and at 10 she became a child model. Her upbringing had all the risk factors for an abrupt career end but instead Portman has gone on to achieve even higher levels of success as an adult than she did as a child, including winning an Oscar!
Neil Patrick Harris
Started acting at age 15
Neil Patrick Harris is a star of both the screen and Broadway, and with career beginning at such a difficult time in most adolescents’ lives, it would be understandable if he went off the rails at least a little bit. It seems though that instead of doing what many other child actors do, he stayed focused and dedicated his time to being an amazing entertainer.
Jason Bateman
Started acting at age 13
Jason Bateman has a very long acting resume that started in his early teens. Starting acting at this age could be, and is, disastrous for many young people who simply cannot handle the pressure. Bateman did struggle with alcohol and drugs for a while in the 1990s and his career suffered. However, like Drew Barrymore he managed to get back on track and now he is enjoying a very successful adult career.
Seth Green
Started acting at age 8
Seth Green has many claims to fame. He starred in the hit TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he was amazing in Austin Powers and he now works tirelessly behind the scenes of animations such as Robot Chicken and Family Guy. With a very successful career you’d be forgiven for not believing he actually started acting at the tender age of 8!
Michelle Williams
Started acting at age 13
Michelle Williams shot to fame when she was cast on Dawson’s Creek. At the time she was one of the youngest cast members at just 13 years of age. So many other child actors have failed to come out of the other end of their teenage years so balanced and it is this that has helped Williams to carve out a very successful adult career. Not only does she choose fantastic movies, she is racking up the Oscar nominations as well.
Christopher Walken
Started acting at age 10
Christopher Walken doesn’t really have to carry on doing anything to remain a legend. He could give it all up and would still be adore for his stage and screen presence. It’s crazy to think that he has actually been acting since the age of 10!
