19 Child Actors Who Killed It In Their First Movie

Wallis was only 5 when she auditioned for the role — she actually lied about her age to audition, as they were looking for people ages 6 to 9. She ended up getting nominated for an Academy Award for the role and became the youngest Best Actress nominee in Oscars history. Since the film, she’s gone on to star in other movies like Annie and 12 Years a Slave.

Director Taika Waititi had seen over 1,000 audition tapes by the time he saw Davis and was quickly impressed. Waititi said Davis — who thought he was auditioning for a film about Peter Rabbit — “is an incredibly sensitive and emotionally connected kid who cares deeply about people,” calling his attitude perfect for the role. Davis was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance.

Prince had been in a straight-to-DVD film before this, but this was her first cinema-released role. She won the Critics Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer for her performance alongside veteran actor Willem Dafoe. She has since appeared in a number of other movies and shows and voiced characters in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and The Angry Birds Movie 2.

Holland was 14 when he began filming for the role. The Impossible was his first live-action role after voicing Shō in Arrietty. His performance was critically acclaimed, and he went on to a number of other starring roles — most famously, Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the MCU.

Rosario was discovered by photographer Larry Clark and writer Harmony Korine in the ’90s just sitting on her front steps — she was later cast as Ruby in Clark’s film Kids, which premiered when she was 16. The film was controversial but helped launch Dawson’s career. Today, she continues to star in critically acclaimed films and series, such as The Mandalorian.

O’Connell appeared in commercials and TV shows prior to being cast as Vern in the critically acclaimed coming-of-age film Stand By Me, which was based on Stephen King’s The Body.  Over 300 boys had auditioned for the four main roles. Costar Wil Wheaton said the four main actors were cast because they were exactly like their characters, calling O’Connell “one of the funniest people I had ever seen in my life, either before or since.” O’Connell would go on to appear in dozens more TV and film projects, including Jerry Maguire and Scream 2.

Hailee was 13 when she was cast in the role, for which she was nominated for an Oscar (becoming one of the youngest nominees ever). She’s continued to star in films and TV shows (most recently starring in Marvel’s Hawkeye and Apple TV’s Dickinson), and she’s also had a successful music career since then.

Leandersson, who was cast after an open audition, actually had her voice dubbed in the film because it was too high for her character — however, as the New York Times points out, the character didn’t have a lot of dialogue and was much more defined by her physicality. The New York Times also said, “In a performance devoid of sentimentality she perfectly captures the awful solitude of a creature who exists outside time.” Leandersson was nominated for numerous awards for her role, though she’s only appeared in two films since: The Arbiter and Broken Hill Blues.

Gilman was nominated for a Young Artist Award in 2013 for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film for his role in the Wes Anderson film. The then-13-year-old held his own with veteran actors Bill Murray, Ed Norton, Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton, and Frances McDormand. He has since appeared in two shorts and six more films, such as Elsa & Fred and It Takes Three.

Ostrum was discovered while performing at a children’s theater in sixth grade. After attending a few auditions, he was only given 10 days’ notice that he had gotten the part and had to temporarily relocate to Germany. The film became both acclaimed and beloved, but Ostrum never appeared on screen again, becoming a veterinarian instead. 

Chosen had appeared in a couple short films and a Hot Wheels commercial prior to being cast in It at age 14 (he would film at age 15). The film received critical praise, with RogerEbert.com reviewer Christy Lemire calling the “kid-bonding” parts of the film the strongest, and saying that each character was “distinctly drawn, each with a fleshed-out backstory that explains why their fears make them so vulnerable to Pennywise’s attacks.” Jacobs has since appeared in the It sequel and shows like Hawaii Five-0 and Castle Rock.

This was the first film for many of the children in the cast, but Khedekar felt most like the breakout star in his portrayal of the youngest version of the main character, Jamal. Besides winning a Screen Actor’s Guild award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture along with the rest of the cast, Ayush was also individually nominated for the 2008 British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer. He took a long break from acting but returned in recent years, and he is set to appear in the upcoming film Gandhi of the Month.