Kid actors suck!

[Quigles]

I watched The Bridge to Terabithia the other day, and I couldn't get over how annoying AnnaSophia Robb was in it. I started thinking about other awful child actors, and I was stunned at how many came to mind.

And that's what inspired me to make this list...

THE TOP TEN MOST ANNOYING KID ACTORS (http://quigs.blogspot.com/2007/06/top-ten-most-annoying-kid-actors.html)

10. Dakota Fanning
9. AnnaSophia Robb
8. Cameron Bright
7. Dylan & Cole Sprouse
6. Cayden Boyd
5. Josh Flitter
4. Jake Lloyd
3. David Dorfman
2. Spencer Breslin
1. Jonathan Lipnicki

My actual reasons for these choices can be found here: http://quigs.blogspot.com/2007/06/top-ten-most-annoying-kid-actors.html
How about you guys? Which young stars do you find irritating/talentless/obnoxious/ugly?

[Cronos]

i though AnnaSophia Robb was pretty good in Terabithia, the other kid was a lot more irritating

the kid in House By The Cemetary is the most annoying little shit i've seen in a film, the kid from The Shining miniseries is close behind. the boy in Satan's Little Helper is high on the list as well

[jolanar]

I totally agree. Kid actors ruin movies for me. Dakota Fanning should be #1 on that list though. I swear that girl has been 12 years old for like 10 years now.

Jake Loyd was a terrible choice for young Vader. I mean honestly, George couldn't find ANYONE better than that?!!?

[sezperai]

i don't really think that kid actors are so bad as much as they are just put in roles they don't need to be in in most cases.

jake lloyd being a prime example....i'm sure he could be good in a "little giants" type movie...but he just didn't fit the part of a young vader as as said....


some of the "good" child actors I have seen are

the little boy that plays aiden in The Ring
the girl that plays Samara in the Ring
The little girl in signs
Rory culkin when he was a bit younger


some kids can definitely play the part
some can't



speaking of which...the WORST child actor of all time has to go to the little shit that played bruce willis' son in Unbreakable.....it's one of my favorite movies of all time and probably would be my favorite were it not for his overacting and overwhining


jasn

[vesaker]

Cameron Bright was alright in Butterfly Effect but aside form that i can't say anything good about the kids on that list

One child actor i liked was Matthew Harbour who played Robbie Preston in Equilibrium, he did good in that roll

[LordSimen]

I don't understand how adults can be annoyed with child actors, typically I just find them kind of cute or I get impressed with how well they hold themselves against the other talent working on the movies (such as Dakota Fanning and Cameron Bright's work). I usually don't find them annoying... At all.

[Scarfather]

You see:
http://z.about.com/d/horror/1/0/K/2/Dakota_Fanning.jpg

I see:
http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/1241/dakotafanningor3.jpg

[Euclid]

Originally posted by LordSimen
I don't understand how adults can be annoyed with child actors, typically I just find them kind of cute or I get impressed with how well they hold themselves against the other talent working on the movies (such as Dakota Fanning and Cameron Bright's work). I usually don't find them annoying... At all.

Exactly what I was thinking. I guess, some people need an excuse to hate something, when nothing else seems to be within reach.

[echo_bravo]

I usually despise kid actors, but if you see a movie that came out last year called 12 & Holding (went way under the radar), there is this little asian girl and she was amazing in it!

[Jon Lyrik]

There are some great kid actors, but even they are stuck doing patronizing/shitty/cliched roles. It's not like they have a breadth of choices, and they are usually treated as cash cows for their parents.

[The Pin]

The kid in this movie.

http://www.fan-de-cinema.com/films/aventures/last_action_hero.jpg

Oh how I wanted Arnold to snap his neck half way through this movie. Just looking at the annoying prick makes me want to go on a shooting rampage.

God damnit now I need a cigarette.

Superperfundo on the early eve of your day.

[bigred760]

I've got no problem with child actors. Most of them do pretty good jobs and the ones that don't aren't heard from again. Jake Lloyd hasn't done anything worth mentioning since the The Phantom Menace, neither has the kid from Jerry Maguire.

I think Dakota Fanning is a talented young actress and should continue doing movies. Remember, Jodie Foster started doing movies when she was just a kid and look at ther now.

Besides, what's the alternative? Kids do appear in movies; it's not a world of teenagers and adults. I don't think Tom Hanks is THAT good an actor.

[Tuukka]

A question to all the people who tend to hate kid actors by default:

Do you like the company of children in real life? Do you have a good time when you're alone with a 9-year old kid for two hours? And you have to focus all your attention to the kid?

[LordSimen]

I find it funny how people hate kids who simply stare off into space and do nothing on film then when a kid actually REACTS to her situation, like Dakota Fanning in War of the Worlds (Seriously, how the FUCK do you expect a 9 year old girl to react when the fucking WORLD is EXPLODING around her!?), they find her annoying. She's a kid. OF COURSE SHE'S GOING TO FREAK OUT WHEN ALIENS ARE DESTROYING THE FREAKIN' PLANET!

[Cronos]

i've never understood the hate for Dakota Fanning, she's one of the only child actors i've seen that actually seems to be able to act

[RustyRazor]

Originally posted by The Pin
The kid in this movie.

http://www.fan-de-cinema.com/films/aventures/last_action_hero.jpg

Oh how I wanted Arnold to snap his neck half way through this movie. Just looking at the annoying prick makes me want to go on a shooting rampage.

God damnit now I need a cigarette.

Superperfundo on the early eve of your day.

The kid was VERY annoying but the movie was so friggin' god awful, it kinda balances out.

"Magic ticket, my ass, McBane!" - Chief Clancy Wiggum

[someguy]

Go watch season 4 of The Wire if you want to see kids acting without being annoying.

[bigred760]

Originally posted by LordSimen
I find it funny how people hate kids who simply stare off into space and do nothing on film then when a kid actually REACTS to her situation, like Dakota Fanning in War of the Worlds (Seriously, how the FUCK do you expect a 9 year old girl to react when the fucking WORLD is EXPLODING around her!?), they find her annoying. She's a kid. OF COURSE SHE'S GOING TO FREAK OUT WHEN ALIENS ARE DESTROYING THE FREAKIN' PLANET!

Exactly. I made a similar argument in the movie's thread when it came out.

[Brando @$$ Fat]

Well, I think some of that has to do with the fact that most screenwriters just don't write good roles for kids. I mean, there are many cases of child actors stealing the show (E.T., The Sixth Sense, Little Miss Sunshine, etc) but it's not like the guy who wrote Last Action Hero is a prodigy in his field.

[Quigles]

Originally posted by Brando @$$ Fat
Well, I think some of that has to do with the fact that most screenwriters just don't write good roles for kids. I mean, there are many cases of child actors stealing the show (E.T., The Sixth Sense, Little Miss Sunshine, etc) but it's not like the guy who wrote Last Action Hero is a prodigy in his field.
Shane Black is one of the writers for The Last Action Hero. He also wrote Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (which he also directed).

I dunno, I'd say he's a pretty good fucking writer. ;)

Originally posted by LordSimen
I find it funny how people hate kids who simply stare off into space and do nothing on film then when a kid actually REACTS to her situation, like Dakota Fanning in War of the Worlds (Seriously, how the FUCK do you expect a 9 year old girl to react when the fucking WORLD is EXPLODING around her!?), they find her annoying. She's a kid. OF COURSE SHE'S GOING TO FREAK OUT WHEN ALIENS ARE DESTROYING THE FREAKIN' PLANET!
I actually consider that a pretty good case against NOT having a 9 year old girl thrown into a movie about alien takeover.

[thedudeman69]

I was told i looked like Jonathan Lipnicki when I was a kid. I took that as a insult.

[LordSimen]

Originally posted by Quigles
I actually consider that a pretty good case against NOT having a 9 year old girl thrown into a movie about alien takeover.

True, but, I like the idea of watching a normal family with normal problems in the middle of the struggle rather than some lonely guy with no family or a fighter pilot in the military.

[Brando @$$ Fat]

Originally posted by Quigles
Shane Black is one of the writers for The Last Action Hero. He also wrote Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (which he also directed).

I dunno, I'd say he's a pretty good fucking writer. ;)


Yeah, but I just looked it up on IMDB and one of the writers is the genius behind such classics as Elektra and Inspector Gadget.

[Panda]

Dakota Fanning would be number one on my shit-list of child actors. The only movie that may be an exception to the child actor rule would be Terminator 2, but it's a close call. Also, child actors will destroy the Ender's Game movie if it is ever made.

[Jon Lyrik]

Originally posted by Tuukka
Do you have a good time when you're alone with a 9-year old kid for two hours?

Tuukka, you dirty dog you.

[Jon Lyrik]

Originally posted by Panda
The only movie that may be an exception to the child actor rule would be Terminator 2, but it's a close call.

Are you forgetting Furlong and his "my balls haven't dropped yet" voice?

[bigred760]

Originally posted by Quigles
Shane Black is one of the writers for The Last Action Hero. He also wrote Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (which he also directed).


Difference between those and Last Action Hero; those don't have kids in lead roles.

[LordSimen]

Originally posted by bigred760
Difference between those and Last Action Hero; those don't have kids in lead roles.

However, Last Action Hero still manages to be great and the kid really didn't bother me. In fact it's one of my favorite kid roles in a movie. Haha. I would totally have been like that kid in that situation, having fun and enjoying the fact I was stuck in an action movie.

[LordSimen]

Originally posted by bigred760
Difference between those and Last Action Hero; those don't have kids in lead roles.

However, Last Action Hero still manages to be great and the kid really didn't bother me. In fact it's one of my favorite kid roles in a movie. Haha. I would totally have been like that kid in that situation, having fun and enjoying the fact I was stuck in an action movie.

[thedudeman69]

I think that Last Action Hero was a fun, popcorn romp. The kid was yelled at by Arnold when he got annoying.

[Derek237]

I strongly agree with David Dorfman on that list. Not only was he annoying as hell in the Ring, but I hate everything he stands for in that movie: the creepy little kid who is sort of psychic and knows something everyone else doesn't know. Jesus, give me a break.

Even though the newer Scary Movie installments (3 and 4, the Zucker takeovers) are kind of lame, what I really LOVE about them is that they completely beat the shit out of the annoying child characters. That was one little glimpse of brilliance that I think they had-- they knew that audiences wanted to see that.

[Donnie_Darko]

Kid actors suck? Really? Where?

http://hollywoodbackwash.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/michael-jackson.jpg

[ilovemovies]

I don't understand how anyone can hate Dekota Fanning. She's actually quite amazing.

And AnnaSophia Robb was wonderful in the underrated Because of Winn Dixie.


I also never got the hate for Jake Lloyd in The Phantom Menace. It may not have been a great performance, but there is a certain sweetness and innocence he brought to the role that is especially poignant and sad when he realize this little kid will grow up to become the evil Darth Vader. And the scene when he says goodbye to his mother I thought was very touching.

[The Postmaster General]

Uzi and Ari from THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS were fucking cool as hell.

Pretty much the entire cast from SCHOOL OF ROCK

The kid from BIG DADDY

Those kids in BABEL

Most the cast from SIX PACK (inc. Anthony Michael Hall, who was also tops in VACATION)

and so on...

Haha @ Darko

[bigred760]

Originally posted by LordSimen
However, Last Action Hero still manages to be great and the kid really didn't bother me. In fact it's one of my favorite kid roles in a movie. Haha. I would totally have been like that kid in that situation, having fun and enjoying the fact I was stuck in an action movie.

I don't remember Last Action Hero that much; it's been a while. I was just mentioning the differences in the two sets of movies the guy wrote; I definitely remember The Last Boy Scout and Lethal Weapon.

And good one Donnie_Darko.

[teenkiller]

Although they can often times be annoying I think there are some good ones. Miko Hughes (Pet Sematary and WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE) was pretty good... and uh... so was that kid from Problem Child...

Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.

[ilovemovies]

Originally posted by teenkiller
Although they can often times be annoying I think there are some good ones. Miko Hughes (Pet Sematary and WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE) was pretty good... and uh... so was that kid from Problem Child...

Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.


Oh, yeah. Hughes was great in New Nightmare but I thought he was truly amazing in the Bruce Willis action thriller Mercury Rising. What a great, wonderful performance he gave in that movie.

Also if we are talking about great child performances then I have to mention Liesel Mathews in A Little Princess. Just wonderful.

And the little girl in Halloween 4.

Almost every performance from Dekota Fanning but particularly great was her work in Dreamer and Man on Fire.

And every raves about Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense, he was no doubt great in that movie but I thought he was even better in Pay it Forward and ESPECIALLY in A.I.: Artificial Intelligence where he was truly amazing in that.

[teenkiller]

Originally posted by ilovemovies
Oh, yeah. Hughes was great in New Nightmare but I thought he was truly amazing in the Bruce Willis action thriller Mercury Rising. What a great, wonderful performance he gave in that movie.

And the little girl in Halloween 4.

Ahh yes. That would be Danielle Harris. She did an excellent job and she was so damn cute too.

I was thinking of Mercury Rising but I have never actually seen the film. I have heard great things about Miko's performance though.

Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.

[JackassFan]

I don't think kid actors suck, in general. But some get on my nerves.

Like, I can't stand Dakota Fanning. Seriously, she makes me MAAADDD.

[Lazy Boy]

Ah, yes, Miko "Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina" Hughes...I always wondered what happened to him, the IMDB doesn't give me much beyond TV shows and movies I've never heard of.

A lot of kid actors suck -- I'm thinking the girl from History of Violence, so awful -- but the good ones are really good, and the great ones are as good or better than their older peers. It's not every day that a freakin' four year old French girl wins the Venice prize for Best Actress.

The problem I have with Fanning isn't her acting, which is as good as any child actor, it's more to do with her being the "go to" starlet for every up and coming adaptation of children's novels and the like. A lot more girls and boys deserve a piece of the pie.

[Brando @$$ Fat]

I think a lot of the hate for Dakota Fanning is preemptive, because five years from now she's going to be another coked up slut like Lindsay Lohan. It's the unavoidable path of female child superstars.

[chasingbanky]

This thread is crazy....

Ok... First, Someguy is right. If you want kids who don't annoy the fuck out of you, go watch season 4 of THE WIRE.

second.... Last action hero was great? You can't be serious...


Third... D Fanning CAN act. Whether or not she annoys you is of opinion of course, but that little girl has a thing called talent which I think is why she gets so much hate in the first place.

fourth... Seriously.... last action hero fucking sucks.

[teenkiller]

Originally posted by Lazy Boy
Ah, yes, Miko "Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina" Hughes...I always wondered what happened to him, the IMDB doesn't give me much beyond TV shows and movies I've never heard of.


I met him two years ago at a convention briefly. From what I heard he got into drugs and his career fell apart thereafter. His days of tormenting Michelle Tanner are long gone. Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.

[Lost in Space]

i though annasophia robb was fucking legit.

[Natty]

I know exactly what you mean, kid actors are terrible (apart from Abigail Breslin - that girl is the shit!)

Oh, by the way Quigles, what you said about Lipnicki had me in stiches.

[teenkiller]

When I saw the kid who will be playing the new Ace Ventura I wanted to punch him in the face. I never even seen any of his movies. I just wanted to punch him. Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.

[vesaker]

Originally posted by teenkiller
When I saw the kid who will be playing the new Ace Ventura I wanted to punch him in the face. I never even seen any of his movies. I just wanted to punch him. Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.

well if you can find him i'll hold him down for ya lol :D

[teenkiller]

Originally posted by vesaker
well if you can find him i'll hold him down for ya lol :D

Ha ha. Deal dude.

With all the talk of Miko Hughes I decided to post this picture I took with him a couple of years ago:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/teenkiller/009_09_00.jpg

Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.

[Cop No. 633]

Nice pic teenkiller. Shame his dad went and blew all the money he had made as an actor. He truly has some talent... shit, if I ever made a film, I'd consider him just from what I've seen him do.

As for annoying child thespians... heh, I'd say I'm only annoyed by a very few. I don't think Fanning is a bad actress at all. I really liked that she was annoying in War of the Worlds. That's what a kid would be like.

But here are the top 3 I couldn't stand:

Dave Dorfman... He just made the Ring films suck even more than they had to. I hated the way he talked. I hated the constant dour face he made. It was just annoying.

Jake Lloyd. The kid practically was shouting every line he read in Star Wars and that stupid Arnold movie. I couldn't stand the little bugger.

Courtland Mead. The dumbass kid from the Shining miniseries. Boy, I couldn't stand him. He was just horrible.

[RustyRazor]

Originally posted by chasingbanky
This thread is crazy....

Ok... First, Someguy is right. If you want kids who don't annoy the fuck out of you, go watch season 4 of THE WIRE.

second.... Last action hero was great? You can't be serious...


Third... D Fanning CAN act. Whether or not she annoys you is of opinion of course, but that little girl has a thing called talent which I think is why she gets so much hate in the first place.

fourth... Seriously.... last action hero fucking sucks.

Who said "Last Action Hero" was great?
They weren't being serious, were they?
No offense to whoever it was, but.....damn.
That movie had two good parts to it: the beginning and the end, and I'm still disputing that.

[MISFITS_Fiend]

Originally posted by Cronos
the kid in House By The Cemetary is the most annoying little shit i've seen in a film, the kid from The Shining miniseries is close behind. the boy in Satan's Little Helper is high on the list as well

Me and my friends used to make fun of the kid in House by the Cemetery. His 'couldn't be more obvious that it's dubbed' voice is hilarious...think a 30-year old man with a high-pitched voice saying "Mummy, who's that little girl" over and over again and you get the idea.

Dakota Fanning is okay, but it seems like most of her acting consists of screaming her lines at full volume. I understand the need for it in War of the Worlds, but every frickin' movie I've seen her in she does the same thing. It makes me want to reach into the screen, smack her in the back of the head and tell her to shut the hell up. :D

[I Am Legend]

Originally posted by Lazy Boy
A lot of kid actors suck -- I'm thinking the girl from History of Violence, so awful -- but the good ones are really good, and the great ones are as good or better than their older peers. It's not every day that a freakin' four year old French girl wins the Venice prize for Best Actress.


When I saw the title of this thread, that kid from History of Violence is the first person that jumped to my mind.

That little shit's acting was freakin' bad, and it boggles my mind to think she actually got a paid gig.

[starcat]

kid actors can either be great, or horrible- as someone already said watch satans little helper...
alot of great actors and actress of today were yesterdays kid actors:
drewbarrymore
reese witherspoon
elijah wood
macauly caulkin
kurt russel
the coreys...maybe not so great today, but their hits as kids are awesome

dakota fanning... i like her, but i think she should stop playing little kid roles now... but man did i love her on the friends episode

[adamjohnson]

Wesley Crusher - Star Trek.

[bigred760]

Originally posted by starcat
kid actors can either be great, or horrible- as someone already said watch satans little helper...
alot of great actors and actress of today were yesterdays kid actors:
drewbarrymore
reese witherspoon
elijah wood
macauly caulkin
kurt russel
the coreys...maybe not so great today, but their hits as kids are awesome


I'm suprised you forgot Jodie Foster.

[Frank the Tank]

Child actors can be good in small doses. They are really irritating when they are portrayed as either being really wacky and highlarious (Spencer Breslin and the fat kid from License To Wed) or smarter than the adults (Dakota Fanning and the kid from The Ring). Based on the early reviews on IMDB, Hounddog will not be the Oscar nominated film that Dakota's mommy wants so much.

The movie Mean Creek has some child actors all delivering amazing performances. It came out in 2004 and it gives hope for the future child actors. Josh Peck from Drake & Josh really suprised me in this movie as I had him stereotyped in the wacky kid roles, and he turns in a dark troubled bully role. Carly Shroeder is another one that has potential for the future.

One child actor I want to come back is Zachary David Cope from Stir Of Echoes. He was only like 6 or 7 in that and he delivered a pretty realistic child performance. He's probably around 15 years old now, so that's still pretty young.

[ilovemovies]

I saw No Reservations last week and Abigail Bresline is absolutely wonderful in that movie. She's a damn great child actress.

[ilovemovies]

Originally posted by adamjohnson
Wesley Crusher - Star Trek.


I seriously don't understand why people hate Wesley Crusher so much. I really liked him. I thought Wil Wheaton gave a good performance in his episodes although he was actually even better in the movies Stand by Me and Toy Soldiers.

Infact, a few of my favorite episodes are Wesley-centric like The Game from season 5 and also the episode where he and Picard are stuck in a cave after it collapses and Picard is badly heart, almost dying. Those were damn great episodes with Wesley.

[bigred760]

Originally posted by ilovemovies
I saw No Reservations last week and Abigail Bresline is absolutely wonderful in that movie. She's a damn great child actress.

I haven't seen No Reservations but she was great in Little Miss Sunshine and Signs.

[Sonny488]

Originally posted by Quigles
I watched The Bridge to Terabithia the other day, and I couldn't get over how annoying AnnaSophia Robb was in it. I started thinking about other awful child actors, and I was stunned at how many came to mind.

And that's what inspired me to make this list...

THE TOP TEN MOST ANNOYING KID ACTORS (http://quigs.blogspot.com/2007/06/top-ten-most-annoying-kid-actors.html)


How about you guys? Which young stars do you find irritating/talentless/obnoxious/ugly?


Spencer Breslin should be number one on that list. That damn voice *shivers*

[adamjohnson]

Originally posted by ilovemovies
I seriously don't understand why people hate Wesley Crusher so much. I really liked him. I thought Wil Wheaton gave a good performance in his episodes although he was actually even better in the movies Stand by Me and Toy Soldiers.

Infact, a few of my favorite episodes are Wesley-centric like The Game from season 5 and also the episode where he and Picard are stuck in a cave after it collapses and Picard is badly heart, almost dying. Those were damn great episodes with Wesley.

That ep was on about an hour ago, and i guess as he got older it became more ok (being alongside Ashley Judd didnt hurt either,no body was lookin at him)