The most interesting thing about child stars is their potential. If they’ve already made it in the entertainment industry as minors, what are they going to be capable of when they’re grown up? Because of how little acting experience they’ve had, these kid stars can be very hit or miss. Some are cute but forgettable set decoration, some are precocious but ultimately playing themselves, and some seem great at memorizing lines but can’t seem to bring any emotion to the roles they’re playing.
Then you’ve got a tiny, tiny percentage of child actors who really seem to get it – they don’t need to be told how to emote, or how to interact with the camera, or anything like that. With that in mind, these are the ten child stars of today that I think should weather the storm of puberty and make it through to the other side as legitimate adult actors.
10. Joey King
Joey King definitely hasn’t become a household name yet, although she starred in the generally well-received Ramona and Beezus and did her time in generic kid parts in a handful of other movies. She comes off as cute, likeable, and fun-loving, but I put her on my list less because of the work she’s done, and more because of the work that I know she can do.
I will never forget seeing an audition she did about two years ago, for a film that I don’t think ever got off the ground. Normally when you get kids in front of the camera for an audition, you’re really just trying to get a sense of what kind of personality they have and if you might be able to coax a decent performance out of them. But this kid came in and made the director cry. That’s how good she was. She made me think of a young Natalie Portman. If that’s not high praise, I don’t know what is.
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