It can take years and years for certain actors to perfect their craft and truly create something great. But for some, it comes naturally, with little experience, and at a very young age. Casting child actors is always a risky and unique process, especially if they are playing a pivotal role. Will they be up to the task?
However, some of the best and most memorable performances in film come from children. Thanks to a mix of confidence, charm, and intensity, many young actors have delivered incredible performances over the years, matching and sometimes surpassing the talent of their adult co-stars. If this is the work they can deliver now, it’ll be amazing to see what they can do in the future.
Jacob Tremblay — ‘Room’ (2015)
One of the most prolific child actors of the last decade, Jacob Tremblay, first stole our hearts in 2015 as Jack in Room. The film follows the young boy as he and his mother (Brie Larson) escape captivity after seven years and experiences the outside world for the first time.
Tremblay is the heart of the film as little Jack, perfectly capturing the boy’s sweet nature, wonder, innocence, and curiosity. Brie Larson famously won an Oscar for her leading performance, but Tremblay was just as worthy as his on-screen mother.
Brooklynn Prince — ‘The Florida Project’ (2017)
Brooklynn Prince plays Moonee, a wide-eyed and precocious six-year-old, in A24’s The Florida Project. Set over one summer, Moonee lives in a budget motel with her struggling mother (Bria Vinaite) and gets caught up in mischief and childhood wonder with her friends.
Prince is adorable yet emotionally compelling as the playful Moonee. She is so natural that you forget you’re watching an actor instead of an average six-year-old messing about. She brings lightness and empathy to this tragic tale, told from a child’s oblivious and innocent perspective.
Macaulay Culkin — ‘Home Alone’ (1990)
Macaulay Culkin became a 90s icon as Kevin McCallister in the Christmas classic Home Alone. In this John Hughes penned family comedy, Kevin is accidentally left behind by his family on holiday and must defend his house from two bumbling thieves.
Culkin delivers a wildly entertaining turn as the resourceful and intelligent Kevin, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role. His on-screen charisma and comedic chops won audiences, complete with iconic facial expressions and line delivery. Kevin could have been a disaster in the wrong hands, but Culkin was the perfect pick.
Alan Kim — ‘Minari’ (2020)
Minari was one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2020, and a big part of that is thanks to its tiny star, Alan Kim. Kim plays David, the son of Korean-American parents, in this sprawling drama about the meaning of home and the American dream.
Kim was just seven years old and stole audiences' hearts thanks to his adorable and charming on-screen presence during filming. The young actor won a Critics Choice Award for his performance and, while accepting, broke down into tears of joy, making him even more lovable.
Sunny Pawar — ‘Lion’ (2016)
Dev Patel might have been the Oscar-nominated star of Lion, but it was his mini-me, Sunny Pawar, who melted and broke hearts everywhere. Pawar played the younger version of Patel’s Saroo, based on the true story of a lost Indian boy adopted by Australian parents.
Pawar had never acted before and was found in India through a large casting call. Aside from conveying incredible emotion through his performance, what’s most impressive is that he learned his lines phonetically, as he doesn’t speak English and relies on translators.
Tom Holland — ‘The Impossible’ (2012)
Before he suited up as Peter Parker in the MCU, Tom Holland broke onto the scene with his performance in 2012’s The Impossible. The disaster film is based on the real-life Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, where Holland plays the son in a family based on real people.
Holland had to film some incredibly harrowing and emotional scenes and many that would have been physically taxing. A lot of authenticity comes through his performance, which is impressive at just 14 years old. No wonder he was the next Spider-Man.
Anna Paquin — ‘The Piano’ (1993)
Anna Paquin became the second-youngest actor ever to win an Oscar for her performance alongside Holly Hunter in Jane Campion’s romantic drama The Piano. She plays Flora, the daughter of a mute woman (Hunter) shipped to New Zealand for an arranged marriage.
Paquin was only 11 years old when she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, alongside her older co-star. Thanks to her fiery and passionate performance, she held her own against actors like Hunter, Sam Neill, and Harvey Keitel, and her Oscar is the proof.
Millicent Simmonds — ‘A Quiet Place’ (2018)
Most audiences first discovered Millicent Simmonds through her performance in A Quiet Place. She starred as the daughter of John Krasinski and Emily Blunt in the thriller, following a family fighting for survival against noise-sensitive alien creatures.
Like her character, Simmonds is also deaf in real life and provided an authentic and impactful performance through American Sign Language. Simmond’s role in a mainstream film was a massive win for representation and paved the way for more ASL in films such as Sound of Metal, Eternals, and CODA.
Saoirse Ronan — ‘Atonement’ (2007)
A child is an incredible actor when they make the audience hate their character, and when that actor happens to be the lovely Saoirse Ronan. Ronan played Briony at age 13 in 2007’s Atonement, a role she was nominated for her first Oscar for.
The film follows the romance between her sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and Robbie (James McAvoy), whom Briony falsely accuses of rape by misinterpreting their relationship. Her performance is an impressive mix of vulnerability and intensity, and her haunting presence is felt throughout the film’s entirety.
Lindsay Lohan — ‘The Parent Trap’ (1998)
Lindsay Lohan’s dual performance in The Parent Trap cemented her as one of the great child actors of her generation. She played both roles of Hallie and Annie, separated twin sisters who meet at summer camp and decide to switch homes to get their divorced parents back together.
Lohan effortlessly switched between roles and accents, playing the British prim and proper Annie and American hip tomboy Hallie. She successfully convinces us that there are two of her on-screen, as her reactions to and chemistry with… well, herself seem genuine.