# Predict which child actors will make it as adult actors **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266 "2006-02-06T18:10:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/1 "2006-02-06T18:10:45Z")
…and those who won’t. One I feel strongly about is the little girl who plays Bridgette Dubois on _Medium_. She’s the middle child and one of the most naturally gifted child performers I can think of. I think her name is Maria Lark. There’s a picture of [Sofia Vassilieva](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1100839/) who plays the oldest daughter, and she’s not the one I mean. Not bad, just not as convincing as the middle kid. I’m already having my doubts about Haley Joel Osment and Dakota Fanning surviving their teen years as actors, in spite of their amazing talents as children. ---
**Author:** ![Kaspar\_Hauser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@Kaspar\_Hauser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaspar_Hauser)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/2 "2006-02-07T02:22:24Z")
Michael Cera from _Arrested Development_. Well, I guess he’s a teen now. ---
**Author:** ![piggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f1d935/32.png) [@piggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/piggy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/3 "2006-02-07T02:25:41Z")
[**Freddie**](http://imdb.com/name/nm0383603/)’s performance as Peter Llewelyn Davies in **Finding Neverland** was simply astounding. His range and discipline are amazing. ---
**Author:** ![NoneSense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8e7dd6/32.png) [@NoneSense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoneSense)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/4 "2006-02-07T02:30:16Z")
> [@Kaspar Hauser](#): > > Michael Cera from _Arrested Development_. Well, I guess he’s a teen now. i second michael. a natural. ---
**Author:** ![piggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f1d935/32.png) [@piggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/piggy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/5 "2006-02-07T02:36:13Z")
I’ll “third” **Michael Cera**. And although it’s really too early to tell, my gut feeling is that **Dakota Fanning** will survive the transition if she chooses to. Like **Freddie Highmore** and **Jodie Foster** , she seems to have an appreciation of the discipline of acting that could carry her through. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/6 "2006-02-07T04:31:15Z")
**Freddie Highmore** ’s performance was indeed breathtaking, so much so that _Finding Neverland_ is one of the few movies that I’ve seen more than once at the theater. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/7 "2006-02-07T04:44:00Z")
The comments re\*\* Freddie Highmore \*\* are interesting. The only film in which I’ve seen him is [Five Children and It.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366450/) I thought he was awful. ---
**Author:** ![piggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f1d935/32.png) [@piggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/piggy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/8 "2006-02-07T04:53:58Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > The comments re\*\* Freddie Highmore \*\* are interesting. The only film in which I’ve seen him is [Five Children and It.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366450/) I thought he was awful. Haven’t seen that one. Not usually interested in flicks that feature kids prominently, which is why I notice when a child actor turns in a notable performance. But I’d recommend **Finding Neverland** , and I’m at a loss to think of a more convincing and powerful performance than Freddie’s, especially in the scene where he portrays a very angry boy reacting to how adults are less than honest when handling very difficult issues, and (later) a very vulnerable child who cannot find the words to express his own reaction to those same issues. ---
**Author:** ![NoneSense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8e7dd6/32.png) [@NoneSense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoneSense)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/9 "2006-02-07T05:59:38Z")
Any thoughts on the ‘Potters’? I haven’t seen the fourth installment, but I think the kid with blonde hair (Malfoy?) has got legs, typecast in bad boy roles for a while at least. The other cast members I’m not so sure about. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/10 "2006-02-07T06:42:44Z")
I’d love to see Emily Browning, who played Violet Beaudelaire in _Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events_, in more projects, both now and as she… blossoms. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/11 "2006-02-07T07:25:40Z")
There’s an ickle-bitty picture of Maria Lark at the bottom of [this page](http://www.patricia-arquette.com/medium/cast.php), **Zeldar**. I wanted to say [Clémence Poésy](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0993242/), but I see she’s actually older than I am, so that’s a no go, as she’s definitely not a child actor. So I second Emily Browning, despite **Lou** ’s horrible pun. I’d second Dakota Fanning, but I’m going to wait and see if she grows gracefully out of adolescence. I don’t know if she has the acting chops to survive being average-looking in Hollywood. (And now I feel like a mean, horrible person.) ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/12 "2006-02-07T07:32:07Z")
> [@NoneSense](#): > > Any thoughts on the ‘Potters’? I haven’t seen the fourth installment, but I think the kid with blonde hair (Malfoy?) has got legs, typecast in bad boy roles for a while at least. The other cast members I’m not so sure about. Draco Malfoy is played by [Tom Felton](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0271657/), who, by the age of 12 had already been in two well-received films, “The Borrowers” and “Anna and the King” where he got a fair bit of screen time with Jodie Foster(as her son) and Chow Yun-Fat. He was already a star by the time he got the nod for the Potter films and I expect really great things from him as he matures. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/13 "2006-02-07T11:11:37Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > I’d love to see Emily Browning, who played Violet Beaudelaire in _Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events_, in more projects, both now and as she… blossoms. Yes, but we’ve already _got_ one Scarlett Johannson. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/14 "2006-02-07T11:32:20Z")
Emily Browning is actually from Australia, indeed right here in Melbourne, where the movie industry is… shit. So unless she gets more opportunities like Lemony Snicket (and it’s difficult for a teenager to get away from local school time for that long, even if she wants to) she may stagnate somewhat, which is a shame. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/15 "2006-02-07T14:39:02Z")
> [@NoneSense](#): > > Any thoughts on the ‘Potters’? I haven’t seen the fourth installment, but I think the kid with blonde hair (Malfoy?) has got legs, typecast in bad boy roles for a while at least. The other cast members I’m not so sure about. Why he could be the new William Zabka! what? ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/16 "2006-02-07T14:55:04Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > Why he could be the new William Zabka! I’m not sure whether or not I should be upset that I didn’t even have to look that up. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/17 "2006-02-07T16:50:23Z")
I think Tom Melton will be his generations James Spader. He has that smug waspyness about him down well. I hope, not in a bad way, but I hope Dakota Fanning just disappears. She creeps me out more than the Welch’s Cherub of Pure Evil. ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/18 "2006-02-07T17:02:19Z")
> [@piggy](#): > > Haven’t seen that one. Not usually interested in flicks that feature kids prominently, which is why I notice when a child actor turns in a notable performance. But I’d recommend **Finding Neverland** , and I’m at a loss to think of a more convincing and powerful performance than Freddie’s, especially in the scene where he portrays a very angry boy reacting to how adults are less than honest when handling very difficult issues, and (later) a very vulnerable child who cannot find the words to express his own reaction to those same issues. I guess I’m in the minority, but I find him overly precious. I’ve seen him in Finding Neverland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and he annoyed me in both. Susan ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/19 "2006-02-07T17:37:01Z")
I think Haley Joel Osment will actually be okay, I saw him in _Secondhand Lions_ and I think he is going to grow up just fine, not like Jonathan Lipnicki or someone like that. ---
**Author:** ![NoneSense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8e7dd6/32.png) [@NoneSense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoneSense)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266/20 "2006-02-07T23:56:43Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Yes, but we’ve already _got_ one Scarlett Johannson. 😃 that would be anna popplewell. i haven’t seen narnia as yet - not out here - but she looks the spitting image in the trailer i’ve seen. also just had to check on who william zabka is (was!). ah, the memories came flooding back… from two movies! and whilst i was there, noted that anna has already starred along side scarlett in _girl with a pearl earing_ . sisters?? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predict-which-child-actors-will-make-it-as-adult-actors/343266.md?page=2)