# Most famous child actor (family argument in process) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 1, 2021, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888 "2021-09-01T09:24:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/101 "2021-09-02T17:22:22Z")
I think part of the reason why so many Americans watch A Christmas Story at Christmas (and why the networks show it) is because it’s very much a sequence of vignettes, only loosely tied together. If you have 40 minutes between when you put the ham in the oven and when guests start arriving, or whatever, you can flip to the station showing the 24-hour Christmas Story marathon, and catch a few of those vignettes, without really missing anything from the parts you don’t see. You’re not “in the middle of the story”, or “missing the ending”, or whatever. But yeah, the fact that most folks don’t know the star’s name says that, just because Home Alone might be well known, doesn’t mean its star is, either. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/102 "2021-09-02T17:41:41Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > pop culture figure Yeah…I remember Home Alone but not Culkin. I remember Shirley Temple but not the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/103 "2021-09-02T17:43:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > A Christmas Story at Christmas Naw…I watch _Bad Santa_. Probably should seek help. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/104 "2021-09-02T18:17:45Z")
The first name that popped into my head was Fred Savage, and I’m surprised he hasn’t at least been mentioned yet. I mean being the youngest actor to ever win an Emmy has to count for something (although technically now he’s tied with the girl from _Stranger Things_). ETA: Correction – I should have said youngest ever Emmy _nominee_. Checking his IMDB page I realized he didn’t actually win. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/105 "2021-09-02T18:58:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > think part of the reason why so many Americans watch A Christmas Story at Christmas (and why the networks show it) is because it’s very much a sequence of vignettes, only loosely tied together. And that’s how they were originally told/written by Jean Shepherd as well. “A Christmas Story” is parts of at least a couple of his story collections. It’s actually a pretty impressive accomplishment to tie them all together into a coherent movie if you have read the stories. As for the OP, I’m surprised nobody has mentioned Kurt Russell yet. As a kid, he was Disney’s most prominent star of the late 60s-1970s, and has kept acting ever since, racking up an impressive list of roles. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/106 "2021-09-02T19:28:20Z")
Shirley Temple is the first thing that came to my mind, and I’ve never seen any of her movies. Unlike Culkin her movies were based around her, and they were Shirley Temple movies, not movies with her role being more important. Ron Howard, Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney might be good choices but are more famous for their adult work, not their work as kids. Ditto Jodie Foster. Temple was more like John Wayne or Bob Hope in this regard. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/107 "2021-09-02T19:32:33Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney might be good choices but are more famous for their adult work, not their work as kids. I think Judy Garland is most famous for Wizard of Oz. She was 16 at the time, so just barely a child actor. But, in a twist, she was the third choice for the role: the first choice was Shirley Temple. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/108 "2021-09-02T20:03:54Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > @SciFiSam, you live outside the U.S., yes? I suspect that _A Christmas Story_ may not be well-known outside of the U.S. It was not a big hit when it was originally released, and became kind of a cult classic due to repeated showings on TV during the holidays. Yep, and that’s probably the reason. Bobot, nope, sorry, also means absolutely nothing to me! I watch more American stuff than the average Brit, but that one passed me by. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/109 "2021-09-02T20:07:10Z")
I’ve heard of it (and the actor) but it is almost the worst Christmas movie ever made and I never re-watch it. It has two good scenes (you will shoot your eye out/ kids tongue getting stuck to the pole) and rest of it is endless and boring. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/110 "2021-09-02T20:46:42Z")
Temple is the most famous child actor; Culkin is famous _for being_ a child actor, which is not the same thing. Wil Wheaton is in the same boat as Culkin. I feel Neil Patrick Harris deserves a mention here, despite his childhood show fading into the mists of time. Didn’t he have a similar issue to Coogan, with his parents basically spending all his earnings? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/111 "2021-09-02T22:54:11Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I feel Neil Patrick Harris deserves a mention here, despite his childhood show fading into the mists of time. Didn’t he have a similar issue to Coogan, with his parents basically spending all his earnings? He was 16 when he started on Doogie Howser, 15 when he started acting at all. I’m not sure that really counts as a child actor. Don’t think he was ripped off by his parents - he seems to be very close to them. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2021, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/112 "2021-09-02T23:10:36Z")
Elijah Wood is in the running I’d think. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/113 "2021-09-03T00:07:59Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I mean being the youngest actor to ever win an Emmy has to count for something Tatum O’Neal was the youngest person ever to win a (competitive) Oscar and we haven’t mentioned her, either. Anna Paquin was another Academy Award winning child actor, and her adult roles have pretty much completely overshadowed her juvenile ones. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/114 "2021-09-03T03:30:16Z")
_This Fabulous Century_, a set of Time/Life books from about 50 years ago, had a year-by-year chart of the top ten actors from 1930-1939. It showed the rise and fall of Joe E. Brown, Clark Gable, Mae West and Bette Davis. Shirley Temple dominated that decade like no actor has dominated any decade since. No other child star comes close. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/115 "2021-09-03T04:59:59Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > He was 16 when he started on Doogie Howser, 15 when he started acting at all. I’m not sure that really counts as a child actor. Don’t think he was ripped off by his parents - he seems to be very close to them. SAG rules are restrictive for actors under 18, so 16 and 17 year old actors have to be famous, very good, or in continuing roles. It is much cheaper for a production company to hire a 19 year old who looks 16 than a real 16 year old. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/116 "2021-09-03T08:19:38Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Agreed. I remember when Haley Joel Osment was the flavor of the day (much like Dakota Fanning mentioned above). And Drew Barrymore before them. FWIW I remembered Peter Billingsley’s name, but then I remember a lot of useless stuff. I also remember Jonathan Lipnicki, Roman Griffin Davis (who nabbed a Best Actor Oscar nomination at age 12)…hell, I even remember Peter Ostrum, who had one role and grew up to be a veterinarian. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/117 "2021-09-03T09:57:59Z")
When I looked them up for something I was writing once I was surprised by how much work kids are allowed to do even under the “restrictive” rules for minors. In any case, loads of those young actors apply for and get legal emancipation, so they’re, in most respects, treated as adult actors. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888/118 "2021-09-03T16:38:22Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I even remember Peter Ostrum, who had one role and grew up to be a veterinarian. Speaking of child actors with only one role there is Carrie Henn as Newt in _Aliens_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-famous-child-actor-family-argument-in-process/949888.md?page=5)