I wanted to start this thread because I caught in a "letter to the editor" in a People Weekly that Jonathan Brandis (former teen star) had committed suicide, because the roles dried up for him as he became an adult. Actors are insecure as it is, and they feel that they need us (the audience) to approve of them.
Being young in Hollywood has to be hard, especially at a time when one is at the age of discovering themselves. Many former teen actors have hit rock bottom...and so few have made it to the top.

Also, another issue of teen portrayal on TV is that many of the "teens" aren't really teens. How do you feel about this issue and the ones I stated?

Wow, you really got off the Joher bandwagon, huh?

I don't think I could take the full story, so I won't go there, but I have an issue with child stars anyway. They don't get to do the things that normal teens do: go to the mall, hang out after school, make fun of the other kids. They're stuck on set, dealing with adults who got to do all of that. Then, when the show is no longer profitable, they are just dropped - half the time, they don't even get personal message that the show was cancelled. To find out via "Access Hollywood" that your life is basically over must be a pain.

It probably is better when the "teen" characters are played by people who are actually in their 20s. They are (a little) better able to deal with the sudden fame because they've had a sense of normalcy.

It's pretty pathetic to see someone trying to live off recognition from a show that went off the air 10-20 years ago; especially when they weren't even that popular while the show was in production. I saw an episode of E! channel's "Star Dates" with Gary Coleman; a sadder site you will never see. This guy wants nothing more than to be back in television, but there's just no way. Vanilla Ice mentioned the "cheese" factor automatically associated with Coleman.

Vanilla Ice! The "Ice Ice Baby" guy! Said this about Gary Coleman. On an episode of "The Surreal Life"! That is the impact of child actors.

Even worse, most child stars are so busy acting that they don't get to know or develop other skills at the appropriate time. Imagine being too old for your first profession by the time you reach 20 and having to be retrained for a career change because you can't do anything else.

The child stars who seem to have fared the best as adults are the ones who went to college (Jodie Foster and Brook Sheilds come to mind immediately, but there are probably more examples of this.)

I had another thought about this...poor Jaimee Foxworth, Judy from "Family Matters," and how she was dropped from the show, her mother taking all the money, and how she became a porn star. I heard she did clean up her act and found God, so good for her.

ETA: Jason Bateman is the hugest comeback kid in this topic. He was the "hot" teen star in his day, just to end up in a slew of failed series ever since his teen days were over. I'm glad that "Arrested Development" is such a hit....that helped to bring him back up.

Coincidentally, A&E had a program on this afternoon about child stars and how they've fared since their shows/movies ended. The former child stars included Jerry Mathers and Tony Dow from Leave it to Beaver, Melissa Gilbert (Little House on the Prairie), Sara Gilbert (Roseanne, although she did not have much to say), Kim Fields (The Facts of Life) and several others. And it was narrated by Haley Mills!

It does seem to be a hard life being a child star. Before it became mandatory to have a tutor on-set, the actors had to fend for themselves in getting an education and go the self-teaching route. After the tutor policy came into effect, it seems like it wasn't much better, with the child actors being shunted back and forth between line practice, lighting and blocking the scenes, their 20 minute tutoring sessions and then off to shoot the scene.

And of course there is the issue of the parents spending their children's money. One star from a show in the 50's (sorry I don't remember which show it was or the actor) mentioned how excited he was to get $90,000 when he turned 18. And then a few years later he found out that he had actually earned more than $1 million. While the parents deserve something for giving up any chance of a career so that they can be with their children on-set, it's terrible for the child actors to learn that they gave up their childhood for money they never got to see (one example given in the program was of Shirley Temple, who recieved next to nothing of her earnings).

Makes you wonder.

On the other hand, though, there are those child stars that don't seem to be too unhappy about giving up the "normal" life. Frankie Muniz comes to mind. He always comes off as an annoying, ego-inflated prick to me in his interviews.

Can I put out there a child star that did okay for herself without staying in Hollywood. Danielle Spencer, who played Dee on What's Happenin'. She is now a vet and is married. Smart woman to actually explore other careers. But it must be so funny for her because she must get the strangest looks sometimes.

just wanted to add that i saw an interview with him and diane sawyers on teen actors. he came off VERY ego-inflated. he said that he "hated teenagers" and chose not to be around them. i don't really remember how the rest of the interview went, but that part really sticks out in my mind. i've disliked him ever since.

If I were Frankie Muniz, I wouldn't be so self-assured until he, you know, actually HITS PUBERTY. Kid still looks 11. Scary.

I think that the more he makes himself foolish, with remarks like "I don't know who Cary Grant is," the more he'll turn off potential fans. And he's going to get older (if not taller), and will someday make guest appearances on tv dramas, and people will say, "Oh, it's that kid who used to be Malcom. Huh." I don't see there being much regret from the rest of America when his 15 minutes are up.

Frankie Muniz will outlive his usefulness. He'll have to change his niche to survive in the business. He'll probably sing or something like his girlfriend Hillary Duff.

That's another thing about teen actors: they feel compelled to come across as adults in interviews; however, what they end up doing is saying a lot of arrogant, obnoxious crap because they think that's what adults do.

I believe that Neil Patrrick Harris did the same thing either before or during the run of "Doogie Howser". Shia LeBouef had similar outbursts during "Project Greenlight" and interviews for "Battle of Shaker Heights".

It takes a while to feel comfortable just being goofy - usually, it's your 30-40 year olds who come across like kids while the teens are trying to channel Noel Coward or something.

Well, they are paid to read scripts - not to actually have anything worthwhile to say. And they probably aren't that interesting to talk to because they haven't had a lot of life experience yet (not that teens aren't interesting, it's just that it's harder for them to sound interesting when being interviewed because they don't have a lot of anecdotes to refer to).

I think that's part of the pressure and why they crack. Kids aren't adult or mature and don't know the right things to say - which is why they aren't adults and we keep them from smoking, driving and all sorts of things. Having to just "be a kid" while the world watches has got to be full of pressure. I think it's even worse now that even child actors are supposed to be "cool" because they think they are SUPPOSED to have the right things to say in interviews. I don't want to see an interview that comes off as scripted as a show in order to preserve an actor's "image" (that goes for the adult ones, too).

Whatever happened to telling the kids to just be themselves? Their 15 minutes of fame would probably last longer that way.

Oh god- the unholy union of Duff and Muniz? I have to work on my voodoo skills more.....

I thought Hilary was in the battle royale with Lindsay Lohan for the affections of Aaron Carter (blah). I guess "Malcolm" is a consolation prize.

And why do I know this? Because it's all over the infotainment programs - we shouldn't really gossip about these puppy love crushes, but there we are.

I had so much respect for Lindsay Lohan, too. I mean, she was Alli! Alli Fowler!

I've heard all the Frankie Muniz puberty jokes, but I saw a picture of them the other day, and I thought he looked about 35! He just looked harsh rough to me. Too bad he'll probably never grow past 5'3.

Aww, sorry to hear that RealChic. I remember how much you liked him.

So that's why they're feuding? I read a short interview with Lindsay in Newsweek and she was pretty much saying that Hilary Duff kicked her out of her movie premiere, etc, but I had no idea what it was all about.

Elijah Wood seems to have made the transition from child to adult actor with sanity reasonably intact....but, then, he wasn't ever on television that I recall.

So maybe it's only TELEVISION child actors that get screwed over. (See? Topic!)

It seems that Wil Wheaton from ST:TNG has moderate success as a TechTV consultant and author, but still wants to crack back into acting.

Thank you! for that Wil Wheaton link. He actually made a couple of remarks regarding child actors. One was that Corey Feldman, is, well, Corey, which probably says it all. The other is that it's a complete shame that no one stopped River Phoenix from becoming a junkie, since he was a real actor, as opposed to the overhyped and packaged young actors coming out of Hollywood right now.

I think that's valid, to some extent. The only disagreement I would have is that there are always overhyped, talentless actors coming out of Hollywood, and they're famous for a while, and then they go away. It's only one or two who are actually talented, and they can go on to great things if they can manage to avoid the seedier side of Hollywood, which kids aren't really equipped to deal with. I think the biggest problem for child actors is that they don't have the support of parents and teachers saying "Just say no." Instead, they've got managers and groupies saying "Do whatever you want."

I will forever respect Lindsey Lohan because she was Fun!Alli on Another World. (See? She is a TV teen.) I don't know if she has done much to fuel the Duff feud. Also, it seems like her movie choices aren't too bad.

If you watch Malcolm in the Middle from the first season on DVD (hey! I was at my cousin's), reruns, or even My Dog Skip (though he was, like, 5 then), it will be noticeable that Frankie Muniz looked MUCH younger. So when I see him these days, he's definitely changed to me. But hey, I think it's refreshing that a young looking teen is playing a teen on TV. I'm looking at you, O.C., though I don't blame you.

So what do people think of Amanda Bynes? At the height of her popularity (the Duff rivalry, her own show, her own movie), I was preparing myself to be sick of her but then her popularity pretty much went to pasture when she went to Friday nights on the WB. Now I don't know what to make of her. Is she not as fame-whore-y as I thought?

Amanda Bynes kind of annoys me, and to think that people call her this generation's Lucille Ball. I actually watched her movie "What a Girl Wants" yesterday, but mostly for Colin Firth ;)

I think Hillary Duff is heading for Haggardly Has-been - and quick! Yeah, she's popular now, but the thing that has always bugged me about her is that she looks 30 - and not in a good way. I keep expecting to see her in a lifetime movie playing some divorcee with 3 kids who's working on reinventing herself.

I always felt bad for Alyssa Milano the most. She went from being everyone's favorite tomboy on Who's The Boss to a string of soft-porn Poison Ivy movies. What else did she do between that and Charmed?

Alyssa Milano's talent seemed to drop with age. When she was on "Who's the Boss?" I thought she did decently, but her acting is so pathetic on "Charmed." And actually, I think she did the adult movies and whatnot by choice...not because she felt it was a last resort.

Replying to bump this up:

Let me give my opinion on a couple of "teen-based" shows.

The best:

Of course, I have to put "Head of the Class" up here. I love the show so much because it relates to me in many ways. I was an unpopular nerd in HS (I've outgrown my awkwardness but I'm still a nerd at heart), and to have a show that made these nerds seem attractive and interesting stood out to me. Leslie Bega is awesome as Maria, and the line in the pilot episode where she goes on about "grounding herself for getting a B" is classic. I learned a lot of facts from watching that show (if only it aired more when I finally was in HS, then I woulda done better in History!), and it was so cutting edge...I mean, the class musicals, going to Moscow, "nerd" Simone (no way Khrystyne Haje could be one in real life, but I think she's intelligent IRL, she has that air about her) and "cool" Eric hooking up?! Definitely (and positively) deviated against the norms. (I can even suspend my disbelief about near-30 year olds playing HS kids.)

"My So-Called Life": I know it only lasted a season, and reran repeatedly on MTV, but I hardly watched it that much. However, from what I've seen, it also looked like a cutting-edge show. I liked how the kids weren't "Hollywood" attractive. Claire Danes was awesome as Angela.

"Degrassi High": I also liked the non-Hollywood attractiveness and normal looks that the kids had. And a lot of them were actually HS-aged! It focused on real issues such as AIDS, pregnancy, suicide, etc...and kept it real.

"Boy Meets World": When they were kids, it seemed to waver on cheesy. Cory and Shawn annoyed the hell out of me, but if it weren't for Topanga and Minkus, it woulda been unwatchable. When they became HS students, it got better. I loved how Shawn grew from a punk to this sensitive poet, and I loved his relationship with Angela. However, Topanga should've stayed a new age hippie and they should've kept Minkus. (Glad to see that Lee "Minkus" Norris is still alive as the sports announcer kid in "One Tree Hill.")

Cheesy, but watchable:

"Sister Sister": It was corny, but fun to watch. Marques Houston grew up from a goofy little kid to a nice-looking young man. Roger was a trip. I just hated it though when Tia and Tamera had to get all "sistah girlfriend" (when you know Tia and Tamera don't talk/act like that for real).

"Saved by the Bell": I am sure I've seen every episode, from Jessie taking caffeine pills to Lisa and Zack hooking up, and this show was corny and cliche in every way, but everytime it comes on, I just have to watch it. "It's alright...cuz I'm Saved by the Bell!"

Ack!:

Any "Saved by the Bell" blatant ripoff, any "Dawson's Creek" ripoffs (or "Dawson's Creek" itself, for that matter.) The former is "been there, done that" and I can't stand those non-diverse WB shows.

Speaking of Marques Houston, isn't he a rapper now? I swear I heard that name on the radio a few times.

He's been a "rapper" for a while now. I think his stage name used to be Batman.

Yea, he used to be in that teeny R&B group Immature. Now he has a solo "career". I think he's managed by the same people behind B2K. He's responsible for the lyrical genius of "Pop That Booty".

He's bald now. Still can't believe that was Roger on Sister Sister.

Marques Houston not a rapper, he's a singer who went solo not too long ago from the young pop group Immature who changed their name to IMX when they became teenagers. "Batman" was his stage name when he was in Immature aka IMX.

Topic:

I definitely enjoyed all of those shows RealChic mentioned except Degrassi and My So Called Life, only because I never watched them.



I watched What A Girl Wants yesterday and I actually enjoyed it. I didn't expect to. Just like I didn't expect to like The Princess Diaries, but I totally love that movie. I've also watched a couple of eps of The Amanda Show, Lizzie McGuire and Amanda's show on the WB on Friday nights (although I believe it was cancelled) and I have to say that I like Amanda better than Hilary. I do like Lindsey Lohan though because her movies seem fun. I haven't like Duff in much of anything I've seen, including Cheaper By The Dozen and Lizzie.

However, I do like the fact that Raven-Symone has come into her own. No, she's not as precious as she was as annoying little Olivia on the Cosby Show, but she looks decent grown up. I know a couple of people have labeled her as fat or overweight, but I don't she's either. She does have enormous boobies though, which may make her appear bigger than what she is.

Absolutely! IIRC, one of the first thing she did after Who's the Boss was to play Amy Fisher in one of the 3 network TV movies about Joey Buttafuoco (I think Drew Barrymore was in one of the other versions, just FYI). When asked about this being such a departure, she said it was intentional. She didn't want to be a child-star has-been, so her plan was to re-invent herself as an adult sexy symbol. Guess it worked!

Speaking of R-S and Lindsey Lohan, ya'll know they got an apartment together? Apparently their best friends. [hanging head in shame] I only know that b/c Lindsey announced it on the Sharon Osborne show[more shame].

Does it seem to anyone that child stars either wind up going to Ivy League-type schools or destroying themselves with drugs, after they become teens? There doesn't seem to be much middle ground? Or is this more true in Hollywood?

Speaking of has-beens, I hate that Danny Bonaduce is still around giving his oh-so-wise advice for current child actors. He seems so smug, I just want to slap him one.

Ditto Paul Peterson, who's still whining about how poorly child actors are treated.

Lindsay's still Fun!AlliFowler, so I can forgive her for living with Raven.

Other "cheesy, but watchable" shows to add to the list:

"Welcome Freshmen": Who could forget "mystery meat," Billy Cushman, and "Merv-U-Mentaries"?!

"Fifteen": All that teen drama in a a Nick soap. Brooke was the uber-bitch.

I think this is because we only HEAR about these two extremes. Upthread someone mentioned Danica Cullen from The Wonder Years. Who knew she went to college and got married and became a vet? There are a lot of child/teen actors who just disappear into oblivion and we never know what happens to them. (well you know, until E! or A&E's Where are they now?) The media loves these two extremes. How interesting is it to hear that Jane Smith from that show you loved went to Colorado State and is studying engineering... not very... however same Jane Smith at either Harvard where she will study acting at the prestigous blah blah blah School of Fine arts... or Jane Smith has checked herself into rehab for the 3rd time this year. This time she really thinks she can kick her stridex habit.


It is innately wrong, but I love... LOVE Danny Bonaduce. I used to live in CA where I listened to his radio show every morning while stuck in traffic. He always cracked me up and I really appreciated his relationship (and worship) of his wife.

Ack! My first response to this disappeared! Trying again (with 10 minutes before I have to return to work).

Is it harder for boys or girls to go through puberty while on TV? I remember hearing about Josie Davis from "Charles in Charge" feeling ugly and awkward during the show's run. In her first season, she appears to be an average height for her age (only a centimeter taller than Nicole Eggert), but one can see her become a beanpole overnight. (I find this kinda ironic because she did a swimsuit pose in "Star" magazine during those "awkward" times.) The cute little boys on TV grow to be awkward teenagers with acne and constantly cracking voices. And also, Soleil-Moon Frye got a breast reduction after going through a chubby phase in her teens. (She said she got called "Punky Boobster.") To me, she looks gaunt now.

And speaking of the issue of former teen actresses that feel they have to strip or pose naked in magazines like Playboy (such as the aforementioned Alyssa Milano). I don't get it. I think talent is the thing that makes successful child/teen actors become successful adult ones, not posing in sleazefest mags. While I don't think it helped Elizabeth Berkley's career (think "Showgirls"), I think it didn't hinder Leslie Bega ("Head of the Class") at all. She seems to be in everything...and with her issue with being naked, I remember reading that she was very shy and introverted, and now she's comfortable with her body. (She gardens naked.) Imagine that.

I've read Alyssa Milano does the same thing. What's up? Is that like, a thing? Luuurve Leslie Bega, though. I don't think her sexuality was so much a blatant ploy, as is the case with Milano, et al. Which is cool. I think actresses who do take that route are almost just going for the cheap sell-out. It's sad. I'd feel bad if I didn't loathe most of them.

Jazper, I think Leslie is cool, too (but I'm sure not in that waaaaaay you do! :-D ). She seems intelligent---was class valedictorian---and cares about her health---doesn't drink, smoke, or do drugs, does yoga, and has a cool sense of fashion. Remembering how she said she was shy when she was younger (HS and her "HOTC" days), I agree with you that her nudity is just a form of her coming out of her shell and becoming comfortable with her sexuality. I also think she is talented and diverse as an actress, too. Ms. Milano, OTOH, lacks talent and poses nude to make up for that. She's just a moron.

(Also: did you see the chat transcript of Leslie from the "Sopranos" online forum that I posted in the "HOTC" thread a few weeks back?)

No, but I'm totally headed there now. Thanks.

And yes, Leslie does seem to have some actual class, which is awesome. Which begs the question, when will teen actresses actually realize that being a naughty girl is hardly all that much of an impressive stature to have or transition to make? I mean, if they were smart they would learn from others' past mistakes. For example, Slutlyssa Slutano has been on an actual series for six years now, and all anyone ever thinks of when mentioning her name are her Maxim spreads or soft-core porn movies. And she complains of the stigma, yet she keeps on posing. Whatever.

Part of whether or not you can live down the child star thing has to do with who you portrayed. If your character had a bizarre name (Doogie, Urkel, Tootie, Beaver), you will always be called that on the street by smartass people, and have a much harder time crossing over. I've seen Neil Patrick Harris in several theater productions in NYC in the past 8 years or so. He is actually a talented actor and can sing, but he's always Doogie in my mind. If the show had been called Douglas Howser, M.D., I probably would have less of a problem.

Just checking to see if anyone else is not so annoyed by the Olsen twins. I saw them on Oprah, and thought they came off pretty down to Earth. I'd expect to hate them, but they seemed smart and cool, although Ashley seems to have about 10 pounds on Mary-Kate, who looks like she has a problem.

I am very happy that Ashley and Mary-Kate are going to NYU in the fall (my alma mater!). They'll be going to Gallatin which means they can design their own major. I think that is a really good move for them, that way they can take different classes and study what really interests them.

I do wish they would branch off on their own when it comes to their films. But for now, I am just pleased to see that they are going to get an education and that they are trying new things. And they can still work-- Natalie Portman, Julia Stiles, and Claire Danes are a few of the names that come to mind when I think of smart actresses who manage to juggle both a career and school.

Jazper, here it is in case you couldn't find it:

Leslie Bega Chat

ETA: For some funny reason, it shows up like a giant black rectangle. Highlight it as you would a spoiler.

I think it would be better if the Olsens went to separate colleges. This is the perfect opportunity for them to begin to lead separate lives. The fact that they wound up so short definitely helped them with their very young audiences, but now that they're nearly full grown (vertically), I think their tinyness will be a detriment to one or the other having a major film career, to say nothing of their lack of acting ability. Isn't one of them supposed to be the better actress? I haven't actually seen them in anything except snippets of movies on the Family Channel, but I don't think either one of them has the chops of Natalie Portman, Julia Stiles or Claire Danes.

However, if one of them takes a role as a drugged out prostitute in the near future, it would do huge box office. And you know every NYU film student is going to try and get them for their student films.

Yeah, neither of them have ever been all that great. However, they've never had material that hasn't sucked some major teenybopper ass. With the right stuff, who knows. Not that I'm holding my breath. My youngest sister is going to be a NYU film student next year, though. Should be interesting to hear if she bumps into them or whatnot.

RealChic -- Leslie is now once again my TV girlfriend after reading that.

Jazper:
Glad you liked it! I'm going to send a PM with more information on an idea as how you can get pics of her.

I may be attending NYU next year as well...I'm applying for the GSAS for an MFA in Creative Writing. I may see them at school (imagine that...ha!) and if so, I'll let y'all know.

I also wanted to comment on people who are cool as teens and/or likeable, but they try too damn hard to show the world that they're cool as adults.

Melissa Joan Hart: I loved her in "Clarissa Explains it All." The first few years of "Sabrina" were cool, too. But it seems as if when she hit her early 20s, she boxed herself (she because an exec producer of the show, hence why I say that) into a squeaky-clean, goody two-shoes role that she was trying to break IRL. I read in US (way before it became the more tabloid-like US Weekly) that she loves good sex and loves to tell the world when she has it. To me, anyone who is sexy/sexually desirable/sexually active doesn't need to "tell the world"...they just exude that sexuality. She seems like she's trying too hard to prove to everyone that she only plays "goody goody teens" on TV.

Alyson Hannigan: She's been typecast as a "nerd" pretty much all her life, but I feel that same "I'm not really nerdy...I'm sexy!" vibe from her, too.

And both of these "girls" are nearly 30...but I can't see them as anything more than "goody goodies," no matter how hard they try.

ETA: Oh...I see I can't send you a PM. All I wanted to say was that at sitcomsonline.com, there is this girl who is really nice and has a ton of HOTC pictures. I'm sure she has some of Leslie she'd happily forward to you, if you want. It is hard finding nice (in the literal and figurative sense) current pics of her, though. I sometimes help out at TVTome.com, and I was lucky to find a current one of her fully clothed, but she had a kinda frown/non-smile on her face. But you gotta work with what ya got.

Oh boy. If loving Danny Bonaduce is wrong, I don't want to be right. I don't get to listen to his show (I'm in Boston) but he never fails to crack me up when I see him on TV. Love him!

I wasn't saying that M.K. and A. are as good with their acting and choice of projects as Natalie Portman and the rest of them. No way. I'm just pleased with the direction they are headed in, is all.

I don't know why, but I've become a very reluctant fan of Mary Kate and Ashley. Maybe it's all the recent media saturation. Whatever. It's good to know that now I won't hate my sister for "dragging" me to "New York Minute".