Ten Male Child Actors with Sucessful Careers

Child stars often have a difficult time navigating their way to adulthood but these young men made the transition, more or less smoothly. Some of them have achieved great things while others are still performing with the promise of their best work yet to come.

Ron Howard - Little Opie Taylor captured our hearts from the first moment we saw him on the Andy Griffith Show at the age of 6.He held that role for 8 seasons, from 1959 to 1967. Along the way he filmed several movies including The Music Man and The Courtship of Eddie's Father. He found fame renewed in 1974's American Graffiti where his goody-two-shoes Steve Bollander set the stage for his next television success as Ritchie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days. Happy Days ran for 10 years. It was during this time that Howard began directing. He has gone on to direct great films including Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man and The DaVinci Code.

Kurt Russell - Russell, 59, began his film career at 11 with an uncredited role in the Elvis Presley film It Happened at the World's Fair. He worked in television throughout the 60's making guest appearances on numerous shows. In 1966 he signed a 10-year contract with Disney films and churned out movies like The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. In 1979, he gave an Emmy-nominated performance as the title character in the television mini-series Elvis. He has continued to make memorable movies such as Escape from New York, The Thing and Silkwood. He was married once briefly to actress Season Hubley and has been in a long-term relationship with Goldie Hawn since 1986.

Rick(y) Schroeder - Schroeder made his film debut at the age of 9 in the film The Champ. A few other movies followed before he landed the role that would stay with him for years as Ricky Stratton on Silver Spoons which ran from 1982 until 1987. In 1989 he appeared in the mini-series Lonesome Dove as he tried to shed his child hood image. He returned for the sequel Return to Lonesome Dove in 1993. He has had a successful television career with long-running roles on shows such as NYPD Blue and Strong Medicine and the 2007 season of 24.He has been married since 1992 to Andrea Bernard. The couple has 4 children.

Neil Patrick Harris - If ever a child was set to be tied to his on-screen persona, it was Harris. The 36 year-old actor began his career at 15 in the film Clara's Heart, opposite Whoopi Goldberg. He won the role of Doogie Howser, MD in 1989 and stayed with the show until 1993. He worked in movies during the late 90s including the Harold and Kumar films. He has starred in a number of made-for-television movies and appears regularly on Broadway.

Jason Bateman - At 11, Bateman appeared Little House on the Prairie. He appeared on several sitcoms during the mid-80's until he became a teen idol on the show Valerie which later became The Hogan Family, even directing 3 episodes at age 18. His career slowed for a decade though he appeared in 4 different series: Simon, Chicago Sons, George & Leo, and Some of My Best Friends, none of which lasted more than one season. Since 2000, he has found a new audience in films such as The Sweetest Thing, Juno, Hancock, Couples Retreatand Up in the Air.

Jerry O'Connell -O'Connell did television commercial work before landing the role of Vern Tessio, the fat kid in Stand by Me. He starred in a Canadian series, My Secret Identity, from 1988 to 1991. In 1995, he appeared in Sliders and continued to do so for 4 seasons. He returned to films with Jerry Maguire. He continues to work in film and television. His is married to actress Rebecca Romijn and the couple has twin daughters.

Sean Astin - Son of Patty Duke, Astin had his first role at the age of 10 as the child of an abusive mother (played by his real life mom) in the television movie Please Don't Hit Me, Mom. He moved to the big screen in 1985 with The Goonies. More movies followed and he found continued success with 1993's Rudy. His most notable role to date has been that of Samwise Gangees in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Subsequent films have included 50 First Dates and Click and he has continued working in television.

Leonardo DiCaprio - The 38 year old actor had bit parts on several series and small roles in films before landing a recurring role on Growing Pains. In 1992 he starred in This Boy's Life and followed it up with his first Oscar-nominated performance as a mentally challenged teen in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? opposite Johnny Depp. The actor has never looked back starring in other movies like Romeo and Juliet, Titanic, and The Man in the Iron Mask. He has turned other Oscar nominated work as well including The Aviator and Blood Diamond.

Kirk Cameron - Television commercials at 9 led to work in sitcoms where he eventually landed the role of Mike Seaver on Growing Pains. He remained with the show for its entirety from 1985 to 1992, meeting his wife, Chelsea Noble, on the show. He continued making movies after Growing Pains, eventually moving into the highly popular Left Behind series of films. In addition to his acting, Cameron is an evangelist and devout Christian.

Mickey Rooney - No list of child actors would be complete without the inclusion of Mickey Rooney, born Joseph Yule, Jr. He won the part of Mickey McGuire when he was 7 years old and played the part in 78 short films between 1927 and 1936. His name was legally changed to Mickey McGuire to help promote the series. The studios sued to prevent him from using the name for himself however and Mickey Rooney was created. He went on to perform in another series of beloved movies, the Andy Hardy movies where he was frequently paired with Judy Garland. In 1938, he had his breakthrough opposite Spenser Tracy in Boys Town. Following his stint in the army during World War II, Rooney continued to act in radio and television productions. He has been married 8 times, has 9 children and survived drug addiction and bankruptcy as the result of gambling and poor money management.

Sources:

www.IMDb.com

http://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/ron-howard/1385618/biography

http://www.starpulse.com/Actors/Schroder,_Rick/Biography/

http://www.tv.com/neil-patrick-harris/person/1293/summary.html

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800019148/bio

http://www.tv.com/jerry-oconnell/person/23105/summary.html

http://www.seanastin.com/

http://www.leonardodicaprio.com/

http://www.kirkcameron.com/