Christina Ricci!
Also the kid who plays Carl on The Walking Dead. Obviously his actions, as scripted by the writers, are annoying as hell, but his acting is fine.
Max Pirkis as Octavian in Rome, the HBO series. I could completely picture this kid growing up to dominate the known world. To be fair, he was apparently 15 or so when it was shot, a bit on the old side to call a child. But damn, he was scary.
He was also good as midshipman Blakeney in Master and Commander.
Wil Wheaton was great on Star Trek.
Kaitlyn Dever, Justified. She’s on Tim Allen’s sitcom now, never watched it, but she really impressed me.
The actress who played Liesel in The Book Thief wasn’t annoying. To me. I suppose she could have been to someone else.
Only if you don’t watch her lips. She produced so many “pouty” mouths, at times she looked like a duck.
Uh-oh.
The majority of the Our Gang (Little Rascals) kids were not annoying, but just natural. Which was Hal Roach’s intention all along.
People who have no clue sometimes seize upon the fact that Roach turned Shirley Temple down when she auditioned for the Gang. But he knew exactly what he was doing. Shirley was undeniably talented, but Roach wanted nothing to do with child actors who practically screamed “Look how cute I’m being” with their every move.
David Rawle makes Moone Boy, and his co-star Ian O’Reilly is a scene stealer.
Maisie Williams. She’s simply amazing.
The little girl in Baron Munchausen. Yeah, she screamed a little too often – but, damn, she had every right! She was face-to-face with the Angel of Death! I thought she was more likeable than most child actors, and I admired her performance.
(Looked it up; unless I misread the entry, the character was Sally Salt, and the actress was Sarah Polley.)
I dunno. I read a post here on the SDMB that, by the last couple of seasons of Boy Meets World, William Russ was ONLY doing it for the paycheck.
I thought Susan Melvin, who played a non-spoiled child heiress in this episode of Route 66, did a good job.
First one that came to my mind, as well.
I had a big crush on Danielle Brisebois when I was a kid. She was Stephanie on All in the Family. I didn’t really like “kids shows” when I was a child…I watched Barney Miller, Benson, Cheers, and Taxi. So I was happy to see a show with a kid who interacted with adults in a mature show…not just mugging for the camera like Gary Coleman.
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons plays Lily on Modern Family. I think she’s pretty hilarious at times.
The young Anna Paquin was far from annoying, and not just because she also won an Oscar.
To each his own, of course, but I would put Kieran (or a least her character) on the most annoying list. I cringe whenever she shows up. The best episodes have no trace of Don’s first family.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster was born in 1990, so he was not quite a child when he appeared in the “Human Nature/Family of Blood” episodes on Doctor Who. But he’d had a considerable career by then–and I doubt he’s ever been annoying unless a role demands it.
(As Jojen Reed in Game of Thrones, he’s still looking younger than his years.)
Reese Witherspoon in her first movie, The Man in the Moon. She was 15, playing a 12-year-old - awesome performance, imo.
Neil Patrick Harris as Doogie Howser MD gets my vote. Not only an amazing child actor, but an amazing adult actor.
He did a pretty passable Paul McCartney in Nowhere Boy as well.