10 Child Stars Who Didn’t Turn Into Hot Messes
Neil Patrick Harris
Who would have guessed that the dweebie little dude who played “Doogie Howser, M.D.” would turn out to be one of one of Hollywood’s favorite actors? Yes, the show was about a genius teenage doctor who balanced hanging with his best bud Vinny and a life practicing medicine (oh come on, this was the late ’80s/early ’90s, even “ALF” was a show back then!), but despite its dubious premise, it was a hit and turned him into a TV star. It may have taken a while to shake off the Doogie label, but Harris didn’t pull a Macaulay Culkin and go all schizo because he had to fight to keep his childhood fame—instead, he continued working consistently and even poked fun at the child star curse by playing a druggy, sex-crazed fictional version of himself in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, which brought him back into the spotlight. Then he snagged his current Emmy-nominated role as Barney Stinson on “How I Met Your Mother,” making him an even bigger TV star than he was in his Doogie days!
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29 Comments
Post a CommentI had no idea Katherine Heigl was a child star! Actually, i haven’t really cared for her much. Nothing against her, just not my favorites. After reading this, though, I definitely have much more respect and admiration for her and her work!
Aww…Leo!!!
I remember Leonardo DiCaprio from Growing Pains, i feel old!
Love Mila Kunis!
I know I’m late, but another child actors and one of my favorites is Reese Witherspoon……oh and not sure, but I haven’t heard anything bad about Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster)
It’s nice to know some people act like real people in Hollywood.
What about Kirk Cameron? He probably turned out better than any of the child actors.
THANK YOU,I REALLY ENJOYED THE ARTICLE…
Yes, it would be nice if you showed a little more diversity in this list. More research people.
awww I remember wish upon the star. I used to lovveee that movie as a child!
The problem is the news likes to focus on the negative. I would guess that the majority of childhood stars have “gone good” but you only hear about the bad ones over and over and over again. This list should be “100 child stars who didn’t turn into hot messes.”
kirsten dunst had has her fair share of rehab stints
thery are all awsome
Natalie Portman should be on this list! From “Leon: The Professional” to “Black Swan” with a degree from Harvard in between.
Great article.
not too often do you hear of those who are doing good, glad to see holiday doesnt ruin everyone
How about a little diversity here? There is also Raven Simone, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Tatiana Ali, Bernadette Stanis, Janet Jackson to name a few.
Jason Bateman is great.
JGL just keeps getting more popular.
I have no recollection of Christian Bale being in Hollywood at a young age…