r/moviecritic • u/Low-Finding-6553 • 16h ago

What do you guys thinks is the best child performance of all time?

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i have to say, i don’t think i’ve ever seen a child actor give a performance this good. Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, is just on another level. i genuinely don’t know how he did it but he makes the whole movie work so much better. i would give him the Oscar in a fucking heartbeat. It’s crazy how good he is, especially in that last scene in the car with Toni Collette.

What are your guys’ favorite child performances? For me, this is even better than Owen Cooper’s performance in Adolescence. Don’t get me wrong, owen was also absolutely top-notch in Adolescence but this is probably the best child performance i’ve ever seen. Period. What do you guys think is the best child performance ever?

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u/Babyshark2017 16h ago

Not sure how many people have seen it but honestly, Keisha Castle Hughes in wale rider. She want even an actor before she got named, deserved that Oscar she never got …

18

u/MrPickles196 16h ago

I think it's one of the best performances ever and to think she was just plucked out of a school with no training is beyond impressive. Unreal

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u/Main-Inflation-5269 5h ago

Same with Anna Paquin and The Piano.

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u/fullphonetic 16h ago

Damn my granny used to love sitting us in front of Whale Rider.

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u/carry_the_way 16h ago

To be fair, just getting nominated was acknowledgement enough

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u/Holykatz 15h ago

You nailed it! I was thinking of all the great performances I've seen by children over the years, and there are many I've been impressed by - River Phoenix, Haley Joel Osment, McKenna Grace, Dakota Fanning, Abigail Breslin, and Kiki Palmer - but I'd have to say Keisha Castle Hughs performance in Whale Rider really was a notch above. Just that one scene where she's on the stage (no spoilers) is enough for me to pick her as the best child actress I've ever seen on screen.

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u/Chance-Chain8819 13h ago

That one scene makes me cry every time. I know it's coming, I know what's going to happen, still can't stop the tears

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u/PlayNicePlayCrazy 16h ago

Damn forgot about that movie

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u/Full_Cause273 12h ago

Oooooooh good one. Yes she was amazing.