Child actor
Encyclopedia
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child
acting
in motion pictures
or television
, but also to an adult
who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor
. Closely associated is teenage actor, an actor who reached popularity as a teenager
.
, for example, might be permitted to a project filming in British Columbia
. US federal law "specifically exempted minors working the Entertainment Business from all provisions of the Child Labor Laws." Any regulation of child actors is governed by disparate state law.
of the child actor not be disrupted while the child is working, whether the child actor is enrolled in public school, private school
or even home school. The child does his/her schoolwork under the supervision of a studio teacher while on the set.
Additionally, the hours a child actor may work are limited. Generally, stricter time limits are imposed for younger actors. A very young infant
might be allowed "under the lights" only a few minutes a day. It is common in television
production for the role of a young child to be portrayed by identical twins or triplets
to reduce each child's time on set. When the child turns 18, the legal limits on work time are lifted.
earned millions of dollars from working as a child actor only to see most of it squandered by his parents. In 1939, California weighed in on this controversy by enacting the Coogan Law which requires a portion of the earnings of a child actor to be preserved in a special savings account called a blocked trust.
The child actor may experience unique and negative pressures when working under tight production schedules. Large projects which depend for their success on the ability of the child to deliver an effective performance add to the pressure.
, for example, is now a successful large-animal veterinarian
after a starring role in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
. Most notably, Shirley Temple
became a successful public figure
and diplomat
, eventually becoming U.S. Ambassador to Ghana
, then United States Department of State
Chief of Protocol
under the Nixon Administration
, and then in the late 1980s U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia
. Brandon Cruz
is a successful punk rocker, after a co-starring role in The Courtship of Eddie's Father
, Jenny Lewis
, formerly of Troop Beverly Hills
, is a well-known indie rock
musician, and Kirk Cameron
, star of Growing Pains
, is now a minister of Ray Comfort's
evangelist ministry The Way of the Master
.
However, often with the benefit of responsible parenting to ensure they matured properly, there are child actors who have achieved successful thespian careers into adulthood. These have included Jodie Foster
, whose adult career has earned her two acting Academy Awards
, Roddy McDowall
, who had a long distinguished career including as the regular star of the Planet of the Apes
series and Ron Howard
, who, in addition to being the star of the long running Happy Days
television series, became an Oscar-winning director in adulthood.
, and drug abuse
. Examples include the cast members of the American sitcom Diff'rent Strokes
, which starred child actors Todd Bridges
, Gary Coleman
, and Dana Plato
.
Plato went on to pose for Playboy
magazine and was featured in several softcore pornography films. She was arrested twice for armed robbery and forging prescriptions. She died in May 1999 from an overdose of prescription medication, deemed suicide
.
Coleman famously sued his parents for misuse of his trust fund and, although awarded over $1,000,000, filed for bankruptcy in 1999. After many charges of assault throughout the next years, Coleman died in May 2010.
Bridges was plagued with many legal troubles as well as an addiction to cocaine
. After breaking this habit, he traveled across the US, touring schools and warning about the dangers of drug abuse. He has since made several cameo appearances on multiple television programs.
The popular television sitcom Full House
made child stars out of Jodie Sweetin
and the Olsen twins. After the show, Sweetin went on to develop an addiction to methamphetamine
, as well as alcoholism
. She later overcame this and wrote a memoir describing her experiences. Mary-Kate Olsen developed an eating disorder
, for which she was treated with intensive rehab.
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
in motion pictures
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
or television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, but also to an adult
Adult
An adult is a human being or living organism that is of relatively mature age, typically associated with sexual maturity and the attainment of reproductive age....
who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. Closely associated is teenage actor, an actor who reached popularity as a teenager
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
.
Regulation of child actors
In the United States, the activities of child actors are regulated by the governing labor union, if any, and state and federal laws. Some projects film in remote locations specifically to evade regulations intended to protect the child. Longer work hours or risky stunts prohibited in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, for example, might be permitted to a project filming in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. US federal law "specifically exempted minors working the Entertainment Business from all provisions of the Child Labor Laws." Any regulation of child actors is governed by disparate state law.
California
Due to the large presence of the entertainment industry in California, it has some of the most explicit laws protecting child actors. Being a minor, a child actor must secure an entertainment work permit before accepting any paid performing work. Compulsory education laws mandate that the educationEducation
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
of the child actor not be disrupted while the child is working, whether the child actor is enrolled in public school, private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
or even home school. The child does his/her schoolwork under the supervision of a studio teacher while on the set.
Additionally, the hours a child actor may work are limited. Generally, stricter time limits are imposed for younger actors. A very young infant
Infant
A newborn or baby is the very young offspring of a human or other mammal. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth...
might be allowed "under the lights" only a few minutes a day. It is common in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
production for the role of a young child to be portrayed by identical twins or triplets
Multiple birth
A multiple birth occurs when more than one fetus is carried to term in a single pregnancy. Different names for multiple births are used, depending on the number of offspring. Common multiples are two and three, known as twins and triplets...
to reduce each child's time on set. When the child turns 18, the legal limits on work time are lifted.
Ownership of earnings
Many child actors never got to see the money they earned. Jackie CooganJackie Coogan
John Leslie Coogan , known professionally as Jackie Coogan, was an American actor who began his movie career as a child actor in silent films. Many years later, he became known as Uncle Fester on 1960s sitcom The Addams Family...
earned millions of dollars from working as a child actor only to see most of it squandered by his parents. In 1939, California weighed in on this controversy by enacting the Coogan Law which requires a portion of the earnings of a child actor to be preserved in a special savings account called a blocked trust.
Competitive pressure
Some people also criticize the parents of child actors for allowing their children to work, believing that more “normal” activities should be the staple during the childhood years. Others observe that competition is present in all areas of a child’s life—from sports to student newspaper to orchestra and band—and believe that the work ethic instilled or the talent developed accrues to the child’s benefit.The child actor may experience unique and negative pressures when working under tight production schedules. Large projects which depend for their success on the ability of the child to deliver an effective performance add to the pressure.
Effects
Many actors' careers are short-lived, and this is also true of child actors. Peter OstrumPeter Ostrum
Peter Gardner Ostrum is an American large animal veterinarian and former child actor whose only film role was Charlie Bucket in the 1971 motion picture Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. A native of Cleveland, Ostrum practices and lives in Lowville, New York with his wife Loretta , and two...
, for example, is now a successful large-animal veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
after a starring role in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket as he receives a golden ticket and visits Willy...
. Most notably, Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
became a successful public figure
Public figure
Public figure is a legal term applied in the context of defamation actions as well as invasion of privacy. A public figure cannot base a lawsuit on incorrect harmful statements unless there is proof that the writer or publisher acted with actual malice...
and diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
, eventually becoming U.S. Ambassador to Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, then United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
Chief of Protocol
Chief of Protocol of the United States
The Chief of Protocol is an officer of the United States Department of State responsible for advising the President of the United States, the vice president, and the secretary of state on matters of national and international diplomatic protocol...
under the Nixon Administration
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, and then in the late 1980s U.S. Ambassador to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. Brandon Cruz
Brandon Cruz
Brandon Edwin Cruz is an American former child actor and currently a punk rock musician, and also works in drug and alcohol rehabilitation. In the late 1960s, the freckled-faced Cruz came to prominence by playing Tom Corbett's charming and conniving son, Eddie Corbett, in the comedy-drama The...
is a successful punk rocker, after a co-starring role in The Courtship of Eddie's Father
The Courtship of Eddie's Father
The Courtship of Eddie's Father is an American television sitcom based on the 1963 movie of the same name, which was based on the book written by Mark Toby...
, Jenny Lewis
Jenny Lewis
Jennifer Diane Lewis , is an American singer-songwriter musician and actress. She was the primary vocalist of the indie rock band Rilo Kiley, and has released two solo albums. She currently performs as part of the duo Jenny & Johnny with boyfriend Johnathan Rice...
, formerly of Troop Beverly Hills
Troop Beverly Hills
Troop Beverly Hills is a 1989 American comedy film. Produced by Weintraub Entertainment Group and directed by Jeff Kanew, it starred Shelley Long, Craig T...
, is a well-known indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
musician, and Kirk Cameron
Kirk Cameron
Kirk Thomas Cameron is an American actor best known for his role as Mike Seaver on the television situation comedy Growing Pains , as well as several other television and film appearances as a child actor...
, star of Growing Pains
Growing Pains
Growing Pains is an American television sitcom about an affluent family, residing in Huntington, New York, with a working mother and a stay-at-home psychiatrist father raising three children together, which aired on ABC from September 24, 1985 to April 25, 1992.-Synopsis:The show's premise is based...
, is now a minister of Ray Comfort's
Ray Comfort
Ray Comfort is a New Zealand-born Christian minister and evangelist. Comfort started Living Waters Publications and The Way of the Master in Bellflower, California and has written a number of books.-Early life and career:...
evangelist ministry The Way of the Master
The Way of the Master
The Way of the Master is a United States-based Christian evangelism ministry, founded in 2002 and headed by American former child actor Kirk Cameron, New Zealand-born evangelist Ray Comfort, and American radio host Todd Friel...
.
However, often with the benefit of responsible parenting to ensure they matured properly, there are child actors who have achieved successful thespian careers into adulthood. These have included Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress, film director, producer as well as a former child actress....
, whose adult career has earned her two acting Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
, Roddy McDowall
Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
, who had a long distinguished career including as the regular star of the Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (franchise)
Planet of the Apes is a United States media franchise with seven films , two television series, and comic books. The series began with the 1968 science fiction film Planet of the Apes, which was based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle.-Background:The original series of...
series and Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
, who, in addition to being the star of the long running Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
television series, became an Oscar-winning director in adulthood.
Post-success troubles
It has been seen in many cases that the failure to retain stardom and success has caused many child actors to lead adult lives plagued by legal troubles, bankruptcyBankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
, and drug abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
. Examples include the cast members of the American sitcom Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...
, which starred child actors Todd Bridges
Todd Bridges
Todd Anthony Bridges is an American actor. He is best known for his childhood role as Willis Jackson on the NBC/ABC sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, and for his recurring role as Monk on the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris...
, Gary Coleman
Gary Coleman
Gary Wayne Coleman was an American actor, known for his childhood role as Arnold Jackson in the American sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and for his small stature as an adult. He was described in the 1980s as "one of television's most promising stars". After a successful childhood acting career, Coleman...
, and Dana Plato
Dana Plato
Dana Michelle Plato was an American actress notable for playing the role of Kimberly Drummond in the U.S. television sitcom Diff'rent Strokes.Plato appeared in over 100 television commercials as a young girl...
.
Plato went on to pose for Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
magazine and was featured in several softcore pornography films. She was arrested twice for armed robbery and forging prescriptions. She died in May 1999 from an overdose of prescription medication, deemed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
.
Coleman famously sued his parents for misuse of his trust fund and, although awarded over $1,000,000, filed for bankruptcy in 1999. After many charges of assault throughout the next years, Coleman died in May 2010.
Bridges was plagued with many legal troubles as well as an addiction to cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
. After breaking this habit, he traveled across the US, touring schools and warning about the dangers of drug abuse. He has since made several cameo appearances on multiple television programs.
The popular television sitcom Full House
Full House
Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
made child stars out of Jodie Sweetin
Jodie Sweetin
Jodie Lee Ann Sweetin is an American actress, best known for her role as Stephanie Tanner on the long running television sitcom Full House.-Career:...
and the Olsen twins. After the show, Sweetin went on to develop an addiction to methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
, as well as alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. She later overcame this and wrote a memoir describing her experiences. Mary-Kate Olsen developed an eating disorder
Eating disorder
Eating disorders refer to a group of conditions defined by abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the detriment of an individual's physical and mental health. Bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder are the most common specific...
, for which she was treated with intensive rehab.
See also
Lists of current and former child actors by nationality- Child singerChild singerA child singer is a child who has a career as a singer. Child singers and people who have been child singers include:* From age 2 Judy Garland* From age 4 Donny Osmond* From age 5 Michael Jackson...