15 Actors You Forgot Did Movies as Kids

Most of the world’s most famous actors didn’t start their careers as adults, rather as children or young adults getting whatever parts they could score. Being part of the industry means hard work, often from a very young age, and on roles that might not get a whole lot of recognition.

Hence why it is so fun to find the first few films of known performers, letting you see them at the start of their careers. Their acting might not be the best (they were children after all), but their faces are instantly recognizable. These are the child roles of famous actors.

Elijah Wood in The Good Son

Before becoming Frodo, Elijah Wood appeared in several childhood roles during the early 1990s, including the dark thriller The Good Son alongside Macaulay Culkin.

Scarlett Johansson in Home Alone 3

Johansson appeared in Home Alone 3 years before becoming a global superstar, making the strange sequel an unexpectedly early stop in her career.

Ryan Gosling in Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Before becoming one of Hollywood’s most recognizable leading men, Gosling spent the 1990s appearing in children’s television and family-friendly Canadian productions.

Kristen Stewart in Panic Room

Years before Twilight, Stewart gained attention playing Jodie Foster’s diabetic daughter in David Fincher’s tense home-invasion thriller Panic Room.

Jake Gyllenhaal in City Slickers

Gyllenhaal appeared as Billy Crystal’s son in City Slickers while still a child, long before becoming known for heavier dramatic performances later in his career.

Jessica Alba in Camp Nowhere

Before becoming a major Hollywood star in the 2000s, Jessica Alba appeared as a child actor in family comedies like Camp Nowhere during the early stages of her career.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Angels in the Outfield

Before Inception and 500 Days of Summer, Gordon-Levitt spent much of the 1990s acting in family movies and sitcoms aimed squarely at younger audiences.

Amy Adams in Drop Dead Gorgeous

Adams quietly appeared in supporting comedic roles during the late 1990s, years before eventually becoming one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed dramatic actors.

Seth Green in Can’t Buy Me Love

Green worked steadily as a child actor throughout the 1980s, appearing in teen comedies and family movies, and would later become famous for comedy and voice acting.

Mila Kunis in Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves

Kunis appeared in family-oriented Disney projects before That ’70s Show made her famous, including the direct-to-video sequel Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves.

Ben Affleck in The Voyage of the Mimi

Affleck began acting as a child in educational television during the 1980s, an oddly humble beginning considering he later became an Oscar-winning filmmaker and Batman.

Keri Russell in Honey, I Blew Up the Kid

Before Felicity and The Americans, Russell appeared in family films and children’s programming throughout the early stages of her acting career.

Kurt Russell in Follow Me, Boys!

Russell actually started acting as a Disney child star during the 1960s, decades before audiences associated him with tougher action and western roles.

Joaquin Phoenix in Parenthood

Before Joker and Gladiator, Phoenix appeared in several family-oriented projects as a child actor while still using the name Leaf Phoenix professionally.

Leonardo DiCaprio in Critters 3

DiCaprio made one of his earliest movie appearances in the low-budget horror sequel Critters 3, a far cry from the prestige films that later defined his career.