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(#5) Christian Bale
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We now know of Christian Bale as being one of the greatest method actors of his generation. However, many forget that the Academy Award winning actor got an early start on the big screen when he starred in Steven Spielberg's war drama Empire of the Sun (1987) at the tender age of 13. And it's not surprising to hear that the English thespian found his instant fame "repugnant."
He described the experience of doing press for Empire of the Sun:
"We did this huge international publicity push for Empire, and I really hated it. It was horrific. I was almost crying in interviews and running away during press conferences, pretending I was going to the bathroom and just disappearing. That has very much affected my ideas on exposure."
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(#14) Hayden Panettiere
- 26
Before even reaching 30 years old, Hayden Panettiere had almost 70 acting credits to her name - the kind of accumulation that only happens when an actor gets a very young start. In fact, she was only five years old when she began her role as Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live in 1994.
After spending three seasons on the daytime soap, Panettiere went on to work steadily on mainstream television shows like Ally McBeal and Malcolm in the Middle, before becoming a household name on Heroes in 2006 and Nashville in 2012.
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(#12) Elisabeth Moss
- 36
Elizabeth Moss made her acting debut at age eight in the television mini-series Lucky Chances. Two years later, she landed her first starring role in the 1992 Lifetime Original movie Midnight Child. She then appeared in several more film and television roles before finally landing her breakout role as Zoey Bartlet, the youngest daughter of President Jed Bartlet, on The West Wing.
Moss has gone on to have a prolific career as an adult actor with her role as Peggy Olson in Mad Men and starring as Offred in The Handmaid's Tale.
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(#7) Jerry O'Connell
- 45
Jerry O'Connell has grown up to be an extremely attractive man; however, his body wasn't always so fit. The Billions actor is nearly unrecognizable as Vern, the chubby kid from Stand by Me, a role he played at 12 years old. Vern was always the butt of the fat jokes in Rob Reiner's 1986 coming of age story.
O'Connell went on to marry supermodel Rebecca Romijn and has appeared in several television and silver screen roles including Sliders and Jerry Maguire.
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(#3) Jake Gyllenhaal
- 38
It wasn't a huge part, but Jake Gyllenhaal made his silver screen debut at just 11 years old in the 1990 comedy City Slickers, where he played Billy Crystal's son. Gyllenhaal played other bit parts over the next ten years on both the small and big screen before finally landing his breakout staring role in the mind-bending 2001 drama Donnie Darko.
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(#15) Naya Rivera
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Before Naya Rivera's breakout role as Santana Lopez on the hit TV show Glee, she played Gwendolyn on the TGIF comedy Family Matters from 1992 to 1993. In 1991, she made her small screen acting debut on The Royal Family, the short-lived comeback sitcom vehicle for Red Foxx. Unfortunately, the series ended early because Foxx suffered a fatal heart attack during a rehearsal.
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The rising of more young actors can not help but think of many adorable child stars. Among them, few have come out on the list of successful actors. Whether the era of young actors is about to come may have to be proved by more high-quality works. Many outstanding child roles have been praised by the public in the past, and these actors continue to hone their acting skills in more TV dramas and movies, now serve as lead actors to meet with the audience.
The label of "child star" on some outstanding actors has gradually been replaced by "genius actors". The random tool introduced 16 actors who started their careers as child stars.
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