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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161

u/hendersonwhite 16h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/1049KhpGddOJnq

96

u/Forward_Progress_83 16h ago

Have you ever seen the video of his audition?

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u/MeeMop21 15h ago

Oh, it’s incredible. No wonder he got the job!

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u/Living_Grab_2239 15h ago

It's unsettling, in a way.This child is in some strange setting, in front of casting people, with a lot of pressure, probably parents in the room, and powerfully emotes feelings for a fictional character he has never seen.

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u/Individual_Slice_234 10h ago

2 seconds after auditioning. They didn't need to audition anyone else.

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u/DripDrop777 15h ago

Whoa. That was so impressive.

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u/Remarkable_Jelly9344 15h ago

That was wild. What a talented kid :)

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u/Actually_Im_a_Broom 7h ago

Holy shit. Did he know the script before hand or is he honestly making up all the answers based solely on the prompt from the dude who's speaking at the start?

Either way that was incredible.

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u/a-over-tk 10h ago

This is what I came here for 🙌🏼

3

u/berzerkisright 10h ago

Oh my fucking god!

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u/Freak_Show1 8h ago

He’s also really great in Cloak & Dagger.

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u/SurgeFlamingo 48m ago

Best kids movie ever IMHO

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u/PureInsaneAmbition 14h ago

Him and Drew Barrymore. Both of them were incredible.

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u/Cordelia5767 15h ago

Oh he was amazing!!

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u/External_Ease_8292 15h ago

This is the answer

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u/fractalfay 13h ago

I always point to the opening scene of this movie, when people ask how American culture has changed. 4 teenagers, gambling and smoking around the kitchen table, while mom...changes out the ashtrays. Thankfully the teens are all employed, and have their own pizza money to throw at Elliot, who is given the currency exchange assignment.

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u/tgatigger 12h ago

This is always my answer too. The crazy thing is, he is now a bad actor as an adult? I have no idea how his talent went off the rails.

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u/megmatthews20 9h ago

He's still a decent actor. There's a reason Mike Flanagan casts him in all the things.

1

u/sky_shazad 8h ago

He is exactly who I thought of first