The term child actor is generally applied to a child acting in film 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.
Examples (movies in which they played are mentioned only if they were still a child):
- Dakota Fanning (1994)
- I Am Sam (2001)
- ''Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
- ''Stephen Spielberg's Taken (2002)
- The Cat in The Hat (2003)
- Sal Mineo (1939)
- Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
- Giant (1956)
- Ron Howard (1954)
- The Andy Griffith Show (1960)
- The Music Man (1962)
- The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963)
- Anissa Jones (1958)
- Family Affair (1966-71)
- Jodie Foster (1962)
- Freaky Friday (1965)
- The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
- Taxi Driver (1976)
- Ricky Schroder (1970)
- The Champ (1979)
- Danny de Munk (1970)
- Ciske de Rat (1984)
- Ke Huy Quan (1971)
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
- The Goonies (1985)
- Emmanuel Lewis (1971)
- Leonardo DiCaprio (1974)
- Growing Pains (1991)
- This Boy's Life (1993)
- What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
- Heather O'Rourke (1975)
- Poltergeist movie series (1982-88)
- Macaulay Culkin (1980)
- Home Alone (1990)
- Home Alone 2 (1992)
- The Good Son (1993)
- Richie Rich (1994)
- Brad Renfro (1982)
- The Client (1994)
- The Cure (1995)
- Daniel Radcliffe (1989)
- Harry Potter (2001/2002/to be continued)
- Emma Watson (1990)
- Harry Potter (2001/2002/to be continued)
- Harry Potter (2001/2002/to be continued)
The term "child actor" carries some stigma as child actors sometimes have troubled adult lives, due in part to their unusual upbringings. A well-known example of this is the child cast of the 1980s sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes." Child members of that cast grew into adults who had several run-ins with the law.
See also child singer.