# The best and worse child actors (movies and/or TV) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 12, 2012, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811 "2012-12-12T07:26:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/1 "2012-12-12T07:26:47Z")
I have a number of worthy candidates, but i’ll start off with only a couple. They can be from any era too, so if you want to slam Rob amd laurie Petrie’s little satan go right ahead. In fact, i’ll nominate Larry Matthews as Richie Petrie for major acting suckage. The other two, the twins Sawyer and Sullivan Sweetin from Everybody Loves Raymond. They played Geoffrey and Michael Barone. I hated these two kids, and they haven’t aged well. For one of the if not the best, i’m going with Ron Howard playing Opie on the Amdy Griffith Show. Yours? List as many or few as you want. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/2 "2012-12-12T07:36:13Z")
Jack Wild ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/3 "2012-12-12T07:40:11Z")
The kid who plays King Joffrey on _Game of Thrones_. Great acting – I want that little bastard king to die very slowly and painfully. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/4 "2012-12-12T07:51:05Z")
Kiernan Shipka plays Sally Draper on _Mad Men_; she is excellent. The worst? My remote is quick, so I’ve managed to avoid most of them… ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/5 "2012-12-12T08:16:34Z")
When the Cosby Show first came out, I thought every kid on that show was great. _Every one_ of them. Rudy was somehow cute as hell without being annoying; Vanessa was funny and natural, Ditto for Theo, Denise was exactly the kind of cool and edgy that my big sisters were and Sandra nailed her position perfectly too. In the later years, this just _changed_. Rudy became totally self aware and annoying, Theo and Vanessa became really affected and their characters seemed egotistical, Denise and Sandra were able to keep their characters likable, but Theo, Rudy and Vanessa literally went from my favorite child actors to my all time \*least \*favorite in a span of a few years. And I hated little Olivia from the start. She was everything that Rudy never was as a little girl…Olivia acted like a grown up and didn’t have the natural talent that Rudy had to just be adorable naturally. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/6 "2012-12-12T10:42:41Z")
I really like the little girl who shows up in a lot of horror movies… but I can’t think of them specifically right now or what her name is. But she is literally like an adult trapped in a little girl’s body (she’s actually a mid to late teen now I think)… very awesome actress. She also did the voice acting for the little sisters in bioshock I believe. The worst child actors are pretty much anyone on the disney channel. ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/7 "2012-12-12T13:44:32Z")
Chloe Moretz - Kick-Ass Ellen Page - Smart People and Hardcandy ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/8 "2012-12-12T13:56:34Z")
In general, I have to say that today’s child actors are head and shoulders above those of yesteryear, when just being able to recite the lines seemed to be good enough. As an aside, I _never_ liked Shirley Temple as a child star. Yes, I said it. \*Way \*too saccharine. Watching her curly little head sing “On the Good Ship Lollipop” makes me queasy the way eating too much cotton candy makes me queasy. ETA: Although I agree with **Stink Fish Pot**. Ron Howard was perfect as Opie. ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/9 "2012-12-12T14:28:40Z")
My favorite one is recent years was Saoirse Ronan in **Atonement**. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/10 "2012-12-12T14:47:39Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > The kid who plays King Joffrey on _Game of Thrones_. Great acting – I want that little bastard king to die very slowly and painfully. That guy is a fantastic bad-guy actor. I saw a pic of him that a random person uploaded to Imgur - “Ran into King Joffrey on campus - super nice guy”. I loved Abigail Breslin in “Little Miss Sunshine”, she’s a great actor and seems well-grounded In Real Life. I channel-surfed onto Hanna Montana once and it made my brain hurt. Miley Cyrus’ high-pitched, frantic, over-the-top expressions were just too much, and it seems like all the teenage actors in those Disney shows are the same way. I don’t know how teenagers can stand that type of acting. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/11 "2012-12-12T14:50:11Z")
I can’t stand Dakota Fanning. I did like Haley Joel Osment as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/12 "2012-12-12T14:55:19Z")
The kid that plays Manny on Modern Family is possibly the worst actor on television. ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/13 "2012-12-12T14:57:13Z")
Hate to admit this, but Lindsay Lohan was a pretty damn good child actress in The Parent Trap. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/14 "2012-12-12T14:58:16Z")
As a small child Elijah Wood was amazing. He was like 5 years old and could emote. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/15 "2012-12-12T15:02:05Z")
I was watching a couple of Deanna Durbin movies the other day. She was really shitty to begin with (_Three Smart Girls_), but improved with practice. ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/16 "2012-12-12T15:08:14Z")
Lily, in _Modern Family_. Mostly because of the very few, but oh so choice, words the brilliant writing team puts in her mouth. She beats her predecessor, who didn’t utter a single word (or just about), hands down.😃 And sorry, **Alice**. I think Manny is close to perfect. That must be a very smart kid, IRL. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/17 "2012-12-12T16:19:42Z")
I’m absolutely in love with the two older kids from _The Middle_ - Charlie McDermott and Eden Sher. Unfortunately they’re not kids. Sher was 18 and McDermott was 19 when they started in 2009. Can they get honorable mentions for being awesome portrayers of high-school kids? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/18 "2012-12-12T16:28:06Z")
I think that Balthazar Getty was one of the best child actors of his day. Whatever happened to him? Ah, he’s still around. Just not in anything I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/19 "2012-12-12T16:35:13Z")
The best child actor I can think of was Hayley Mills, the late John Mills’s daughter. Her debut in the thriller _Tiger Bay_ was superb. She went on to be quite a sensation in the early '60s, in both the UK and the US. I first saw her in the original _Parent Trap_, playing the twins Sharon and Susan. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811/20 "2012-12-12T16:40:18Z")
> [@chargerrich](#): > > Hate to admit this, but Lindsay Lohan was a pretty damn good child actress in The Parent Trap. Why? Lindsay Lohan was an incredibly talented actress. That’s why watching her piss it all away has been so tragic. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-and-worse-child-actors-movies-and-or-tv/643811.md?page=2)