What was your job when you were four years
old?
If you didn’t have one, congratulations,
you’re normal.
However that’s not always the case, for
some of the stars on our list, they were already
working towards becoming the famous actors
that they are today.
Everyone knows about Neil Patrick Harris being
a child star, but what about some of the lesser-known
stories?
Here is our list of 10 Famous Actors You Didn’t
Know Were Child Stars!
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Scarlett Johansson
In recent years, Scarlett Johansson has become
one of the most dependable box office babes
in Hollywood.
She can do everything from action packed Marvel
movies to psychological thrillers and she
looks damn good doing it.
Scarjo is no newcomer to the industry, though,
as she was actually a child star.
Back in 1994 she was in the movie North with
Elijah Wood and she was only nine years old
at the time.
Young Johansson continued to work on multiple
small movies and TV shows until she matured
into the beauty that she is today and sky
rocketed to the top of every casting directors
wish list.
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds is one of the most liked and
respected men working in Hollywood right now
and the whole world really fell in love with
the Canadian actor after his incredible performance
as Deadpool.
It’s pretty safe to say that Reynolds will
have no trouble finding work in the coming
years, but as it turns out, he actually got
his start in the business at a pretty young
age.
When Ryan Reynolds was 15 years old he snagged
himself a recurring role on the show Fifteen
or Hillside as Billy Simpson in.
The teen drama was produced by Nickelodeon
and dealt with issues like drugs and alcohol.
Ariel Winter
Ariel Winter has been playing the nerdy Alex
Dunphy on the hit comedy Modern Family for
years now, but it turns out her career actually
started at a much younger age.
When the actress was four years old she actually
starred in a Cool Whip commercial, which means
that she has been working for over fifteen
years now.
It seems like Ariel was always determined
to succeed as she had no problem dying her
hair black at the age of seven because someone
told her it would help her land roles.
Winter has recently matured into quite a stunning
woman who has no problem flaunting what she’s
got.
Rose Byrne
Rose Byrne is sneakily becoming one of the
biggest names in comedy.
She’s recently been in Spy, Neighbors (and
it’s sequel), This is Where I Leave You
and Bridesmaids to name a few.
Hollywood seems to be falling in love with
Byrne but chances are that most audience members
don’t know that she has been working for
a long time.
Byrne’s first role came when she was 13
years old in 1994 in a movie called Dallas
Doll.
She then continued to do TV work in Australia
until she later broke into the Hollywood movie
scene.
We expect her career to continue to ascend
as she continues to rack up great performances.
Joaquin Phoenix
There is no denying that Joaquin Phoenix is
one of the weirdest people in Hollywood, but
that doesn’t mean that he isn’t incredibly
talented.
People mostly recognize Phoenix from his Oscar
nominated work but people probably don’t
know much about his work as a child actor.
He started out with small parts on television
shows and his first role was on Seven Brides
for Seven Brother in 1982 when he was only
eight years old.
Back then you wouldn’t have called him “Joaquin”
though as he spent the early years of his
career being credit as “Leaf Phoenix”.
It wasn’t until many years later that he
made the switch to Joaquin, prompting years
and years of people mispronouncing his name.
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal could be one of the most underrated
actors working today as he already has a very
impressive resume including films like has
a pretty serious career with movies like Donnie
Darko, Nightcrawler, and Brokeback Mountain.
But what many people probably don’t know
is that the actor got a really early start
on his career.
He played the little boy named Danny Robbins
in 1991’s City Slickers with Billy Crystal.
He went on to be Leon in Josh and S.A.M.,
where two young brothers go on a crazy cross-country
adventure together.
This is where he came across Martha Plimpton,
who he had a crush on.
Christian Bale
Christian Bale is one of the most respected
actors working today and he has racked up
some amazing performances in movies like The
Prestige, The Big Short and of course Christopher
Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
Most child stars start out with goofy or somewhat
embarrassing roles, but that certainly is
not the case with Bale.
Back in 1987, Christian Bale got his big break
when he landed a leading role in Spielberg’s
film, Empire of the Sun, which is pretty impressive
seeing as he was only thirteen years old at
the time.
Only 42 years young, it looks like the world
is going to get to see many more years of
great Christian Bale performances!
Natalie Portman
Anyone who saw a 12-year-old Portman in Léon:
The Professional knew she'd eventually end
up winning an Oscar.
Portman took home the Best Actress honor for
her role in Black Swan and there is already
award buzz surrounding her latest film, Jackie.
Portman is as talented as she is stunning
and it is no surprise that she has been able
to mature so well from a child star to a bankable
leading woman.
Portman has done a bit of everything from
Star Wars, to Marvel movies to Oscar-bait
films and we can only imagine that she will
continue to impress with her next performances.
Ryan Gosling
Some people were surprised to see the studly
Ryan Gosling singing and dancing in the critically
acclaimed La La Land, but true fans of his
know that he is actually just returning to
his roots.
Ryan Gosling was a child star when he was
a part of the famous Mickey Mouse club.
While many of his co-stars like Brittany Spears
and Justin Timberlake continued on the singing
path, Gosling decided to turn his focus towards
acting.
It seems like it was the right call as he
has undoubtedly blossomed into one of the
biggest male stars in Hollywood.
That being said, it is nice to see him singing
and dancing again, just like the 
old days!
Chloe Grace Moretz
Chloe Grace Moretz is one of the hottest young
names in Hollywood and she seems to be popping
up all over the place these days.
Lately, she is undeniably garnering more attention
for her great and matured looks but she is
definitely not new to the spotlight as she
is already somewhat of a Hollywood veteran,
even though she is yet to turn twenty.
Moretz started working at the age of seven
on the TV Show The Guardian and then her big
break came the next year when she starred
in the remake of The Amityville Horror.
This great performance helped her land the
Hit-Girl role in Kick-Ass and it seems like
she hasn’t stopped working since.
Chloe Grace Moretz is now maturing into a
beautiful, smart and talented young woman
and she is definitely an example of a child
star growing up properly!
So there’s our list of ten famous actors
you didn’t know were child stars.
Which one of these actors did you not know
about?
Which actor on this list do you think is the
most talented?
Let us know in the comments section below
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