But there are also a whole bunch of established Hollywood actors whose child acting past always comes as a surprise. So, here are 15 actors who you might not have realized actually got their start in childhood:
1.
Nowadays, 40-year-old Scarlett Johansson is best known for her roles in movies like Lost In Translation, Jojo Rabbit, and — most recently — Jurassic World Rebirth:
But she has actually been in the industry forever, with the star landing her first role as a sketch character on a 1994 episode of Late Night with Conan O’Brien when she was just 9 years old:
Later that same year, Scarlett made her movie debut as John Ritter’s daughter in North, and her first leading role came with the 1996 movie Manny & Lo, when she was 11 years old.
Scarlett gained more mainstream traction at 13 thanks to her performance in the movie The Horse Whisperer, and her definitive breakout role was in the 2001 comedy Ghost World when she was 16 years old.
2.
Christian Bale, 51, was last seen on screen in the 2022 movie The Pale Blue Eye:
But most people don’t realize that he is also a former child star, earning his first credit at age 12 in the 1986 movie Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna:
He continued to work throughout his teens, starring in the 1987 movie Empire of the Sun, as well as Henry V and Treasure Island.
3.
Elisabeth Moss, 43, is best known for playing June in The Handmaid’s Tale, which came to an end earlier this year:
But she has actually been acting since 1990, landing her first credited role in the TV film Bar Girls at age 7:
She made her movie debut in 1991 in the film Suburban Commando, and in 1994, at age 11, she took on the role of Greta in Imaginary Crimes. Elisabeth also did a lot of voice acting as a child, with credited performances in Once Upon A Forest and Frosty Returns, among others.
Elisabeth worked steadily throughout her childhood, and was 17 years old when she landed one of her breakout movie roles in Girl, Interrupted:
4.
At age 50, Leonardo DiCaprio is objectively one of the biggest actors on the planet, starring in huge movies like Titanic, Django Unchained, and One Battle After Another over the decades.
But he was actually just 14 years old when he first started acting, starring in two episodes of The New Lassie in 1989, The Mickey Mouse Club in 1990, and landing a recurring role in the TV show Parenthood between 1990 and 1991.
Leo was 16 years old when he was cast in what was perhaps his most famous early TV role in the show Growing Pains, and he made his movie debut that same year in the straight-to-video horror Critters 3.
Leo then had a pretty iconic run in 1993 — the year that he turned 18 — when two huge movies were released: This Boy’s Life, in which he starred alongside his now-industry peer Robert De Niro, and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, which earned him his first of many Oscar nominations.
But did you know that the 59-year-old star has actually been acting since she was just 13 years old? Her first major movie role was playing Sunshine Walker in the 1980 classic Little Darlings:
The following year, she starred in the critically acclaimed drama Prince of the City, and Cynthia went on to appear in several other movies and TV films, like I Am The Cheese and My Body, My Child, before her 18th birthday.
6.
Absolutely everybody knows 34-year-old Jeremy Allen White for his Emmy-winning performance in The Bear, with the actor most recently being seen playing rocker Bruce Springsteen in the biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere:
However, Jeremy has actually been gracing our screens since 2006, which is the year he turned 15. That year, he appeared in the movie Beautiful Ohio as well as an episode of Conviction.
He’s been acting steadily ever since, appearing in the 2007 indie movie The Speed of Light, and starring alongside Ezra Miller in the 2008 film Afterschool.
But Jeremy’s big break arguably didn’t come until he was 20 years old, with the star first entering public conciousness when he was cast as Lip Gallagher in the hit TV series Shameless, which aired between 2011 and 2021:
7.
Tobey Maguire, now 50, shot into mainstream consciousness when he was cast as Spider-Man in 2002, and he was most recently seen in a 2023 episode of Extrapolations:
But Tobey’s first credited acting role was way back in 1989, when he played “Boy No. 3” in the TV film Rodney Dangerfield: Opening Night at Rodney’s Place at 14 years old:
The following year, Tobey appeared alongside Whoopi Goldberg in the TV movie Tales from the Whoop: Hot Rod Brown Class Clown:
And he went on to star in a whole bunch of TV episodes before his 18th birthday, with appearances in Eerie, Indiana, Blossom, and Roseanne. Then, at age 17, Tobey starred alongside young Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1993 movie This Boy’s Life, kickstarting his glittering movie career.
8.
Among modern viewers, 52-year-old Neil Patrick Harris is perhaps best known for playing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, but the star’s most recent screen appearance was in an episode of Dexter: Resurrection earlier this year:
For people of a certain age, however, it’s wild to think that Neil isn’t known first and foremost for being a former child star, with the actor pretty prolific in his youth. In 1988, when he was 14, he made his movie and TV debut in multiple projects, including the Whoopi Goldberg film Clara’s Heart:
The very next year, he landed his most famous childhood role, the titular character in the medical series Doogie Howser, M.D., which aired between 1989 and 1993:
9.
Another big-name actor who has managed to shake her once-iconic child star image is Natalie Portman, 44, who was last seen in Fountain of Youth, which was released earlier this year:
However, her very first acting credit was a leading role in the highly acclaimed 1994 movie Léon: The Professional, when she was just 13 years old:
And her portfolio remained pretty impressive throughout her childhood, with subsequent roles in Heat and Mars Attacks! before Natalie landed the role of Padmé Amidala in Star Wars in 1999 — the same year she turned 18.
10.
Jake Gyllenhaal, 44, was last seen on screen in 2024, when he starred in the movie Road House as well as the AppleTV+ series Presumed Innocent.
But he has been acting since he was 10 years old, making his screen debut in the 1991 movie City Slickers:
Two years later, he appeared in two more films: A Dangerous Woman and Josh and S.A.M., but he then took a five-year break — returning to the industry in 1998, just before his 18th birthday.
11.
Earlier this year, 62-year-old Jodie Foster could be seen in the independent French movie A Private Life:
But she has literally been acting since the ’60s, making her first credited TV appearance in an episode of Mayberry R.F.D. back in 1968, when she was 5 years old:
She worked steadily in the years that followed, with appearances on TV shows like My Three Sons and Paper Moon.
Jodie also acted in her fair share of movies, like the 1973 adaptation of Tom Sawyer, when she was 10:
But 1976 was a particularly big year for 13-year-old Jodie, who starred in Taxi Driver, Bugsy Malone, and the original Freaky Friday movie:
She even hosted Saturday Night Live that same year, and remained the show’s youngest ever host until 1982, when Drew Barrymore broke her record at age 7.
12.
Mila Kunis is now 42 years old, and her most recent on-screen appearance was in the 2024 movie Goodrich:
And while Mila has spoken at length about landing her breakout role in That ’70s Show when she was still a child, most don’t realize that she actually started acting years earlier. She made her TV debut in 1994 at age 10, with credited appearances in episodes of Days Of Our Lives and Baywatch.
She continued to work in the years between her debut and That ’70s Show, which premiered in 1998 when she was 14, and even made her movie debut in the 1996 film Santa with Muscles.
13.
After getting his big break as Spider-Man back in 2016, 29-year-old Tom Holland’s most recent work was the 2023 TV show The Crowded Room:
But Tom has been in the industry since 2010, which is when he landed his first voice acting job in Arrietty, at age 12. Prior to this, Tom had been enjoying a successful theater career, leading the West End performance of Billy Elliot: The Musical from the age of 10. He ended up making his first on-screen acting appearance in The Impossible, which was released in 2012 but filmed two years earlier, when Tom was 14:
He continued acting through his teens, with roles in movies like How I Live Now, and another voice acting role in Locke in 2013.
14.
Some millennials may be stunned to learn that not everybody knows 43-year-old Kirsten Dunst for her child acting career. After all, lately she has become much more renowned for her current roles — including her performance in Roofman last year:
Unbeknownst to younger viewers, Kirsten made her acting debut in the 1989 Woody Allen movie New York Stories, when she was 7 years old. The following year, she worked alongside Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, and Morgan Freeman in The Bonfire of the Vanities.
Kirsten’s impressive childhood resume doesn’t end there, with the star landing a string of TV and movie roles before she was even a teenager, including Little Women and Interview with the Vampire, which were both released in 1994, when she was 12.
Other young Kirsten Dunst classics include the 1995 hit Jumanji, and The Virgin Suicides, which was released in 1999.
15.
And finally, Joseph Gordon-Levitt went from being basically everywhere to taking a bit of a step back from acting at some point in the 2010s, but he hasn’t disappeared entirely, with the 44-year-old last seen in the 2024 movie Killer Heat:
But who could blame JGL for wanting a break from acting — he has been in the biz since he was 7 years old, making his screen debut in the TV film Stranger On My Land and two episodes of Family Ties in 1988.
His TV career kicked off after that, with Joseph having a seriously impressive ’90s resume with appearances in the likes of Beethoven, Changes, and Dark Shadows.
He landed his breakout role of Tommy in 3rd Rock from the Sun when he was 15 years old, in 1996:
Can you think of any other established actors people may not realize are former child stars? Let me know in the comments below!
