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10 Child Actors To Keep An Eye On

The most interesting thing about child stars is their potential. If they've already made it in the entertainment industry as minors, what are they going to be capable of when they’re grown up? Because of how little acting experience they've had, these kid stars can be very hit or miss. Some are cute but forgettable set decoration, some are precocious but ultimately playing themselves, and some seem great at memorizing lines but can’t seem to bring any emotion to the roles they’re playing. Then you've got a tiny, tiny percentage of child actors who really seem to get it – they don’t need to be told how to emote, or how to interact with the camera, or anything like that. With that in mind, these are the ten child stars of today that I think should weather the storm of puberty and make it through to the other side as legitimate adult actors.

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1. Hailee Steinfeld

For me, this girl has turned in one of the best performances by a child in all of cinema. Her work in True Grit is what I would consider the benchmark against which you judge all other child actors. Am I exaggerating a little bit?  Possibly, but I don’t think so. What’s so impressive is how much she transformed herself to embody the role of a headstrong girl hell bent on revenge.  If you ever watch interviews with her, she could not be further from this character.

Everything about her performance – the rapid fire dialogue, the cadence of her voice, even her physicality – was a conscious acting choice. To have that kind of awareness at her age is remarkable. So much of the time when we judge the work of child actors, we make allowances for their age and relative inexperience. But what is so fantastic about Hailee Steinfield is that her performance isn’t just good “for a child actor”…it’s good, period. I think any adult actress would be proud to have turned in the work that she did in this film.

So there you have it, any choices we missed? Let us know in the comments.

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