When young actors in Hollywood become older, it might be difficult for them to transition to the more serious side of acting. These young, aspirational children may succeed in their early years, but sadly their performance declines as they age. However, some young celebrities succeed right away and continue to do so as the years go by.
Unquestionably, Haley Joel Osment is best known for his ground-breaking performance in the 1999 psychological thriller “The Sixth Sense,” with Bruce Willis. His well-known remark, “I see dead people,” would be remembered by the majority of people. Osment received nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance in the movie, which also earned him a Saturn Award.
Osment started his career as a child star in the 1994 movie “Forrest Gump,” starring with Tom Hanks, before appearing in “The Sixth Sense.” As the decade progressed, Osment kept acting and proceeded to star in several films of all genres, demonstrating his skill at such a young age. While it’s normal for young performers to take vacations from Hollywood to pursue their education or other goals, or their careers just don’t go as anticipated, Osment has persevered in La La Land and managed to remain relevant in a rapidly evolving profession.
Osment, who is now 34 years old, has developed into a fairly attractive actor while continuing to display his wide range of skills. Continue reading to discover more about Osment’s impressive career and his current projects.
Osment was born in Los Angeles, California, on April 10, 1988. He is the child of actor Michael Eugene Osment and Theresa Osment, a teacher. Additionally, he has a sister who is an actress named Emily Osment who is best known for playing Lilly in the Disney sitcom “Hannah Montana.”
Along with being a child actor, Osment was also involved in sports throughout his earlier years, including wrestling, basketball, football, and golf. Osment reportedly became an actor by accident, despite the fact that his father was also an actor and owned a theater on Santa Monica Boulevard, according to The Guardian. Osment, who was first seen at age 4 at an Ikea, later made his appearance in a pizza business advertisement in 1993. Later, when he was just 5 years old, he was cast as Forrest Jr. in “Forrest Gump.”
Soon after, Osment was cast as Cole Sear in “The Sixth Sense,” a part that is still well-known today. According to The Guardian, Osment’s “vulnerability and complexity” finally won over director M. Night Shyamalan, who had first feared that the young actress was too much of a “cherub” to portray such a grim part.
Osment expressed his gratitude to director Shyamalan and actor Willis for their support and for believing in him. If they hadn’t shown me that they believed in me, “I don’t think I could have done it,” he said.
According to Far Out, Osment added, “I recognize that I’m really blessed. “Because there were other children who maybe didn’t have parents who watched out for them, or were on unwholesome film sets, or were in unsafe environments. That, however, was not my experience.
Although many individuals would believe that being a kid star would guarantee them a ton of popularity at school, that isn’t necessarily the case. In order to acclimate to their new hectic lifestyles as professional stars, some children also have to go from physically attending school with other children their age to being homeschooled.
Although many of his classmates and peers would not have been permitted to see them at the time owing to their age, Osment found himself working mostly in more adult movies, unlike other child stars. Osment was cast alongside legendary actors like Willis, Tom Hanks, and Michael Caine rather as Disney or Nickelodeon stars.
Because many of his contemporaries hadn’t seen his work, Osment wasn’t actually pestered by them about appearing in movies. He clarified:
“The fact that I wasn’t involved in activities that my age rank was watching lessened the impact on my personal life. So when I returned to school, it wasn’t like I was on a program that everyone in the school was watching at once, and I believe that this made the process of growing up a little simpler. After “The Sixth Sense,” even in sixth grade, my peers were too young to see the film.
Instead, Osment pointed out that young actors in children’s shows, like his sister Emily, sometimes face more pressure. With roles in shows like “Hannah Montana,” “Jonas,” “The Suite Life on Deck,” and others, she was a tremendous celebrity on the Disney channel.
Osment also mentioned Zac Efron while talking about other noteworthy celebrities that rose to stardom at a young age. With his breakout performance as Troy Bolton in the “High School Musical” series, Efron initially shot to popularity. When the first movie came out in 2006, Efron immediately rose to fame as a teen idol and significant heartthrob.
Speaking about Emily and Efron’s experience as well-known Disney stars, Osment stated, “I respect them both for pulling through it. Being on those programs that were incredibly successful with their own age groups, I think there’s a lot more strain and a lot more scrutiny.”
Osment got the chance to work with Efron in the movie “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile” later in his career. It was unquestionably a step up in maturity for Efron, and it fit perfectly in with the kind of movie that most people would connect with Osment.
But Osment had some maturing to do before he could really appreciate the job he had done as a kid actor. Osment relocated to New York at the age of 18 to attend New York University to study experimental drama, according to The Guardian. Though it wasn’t a fantastic professional choice, he said, “I did work that almost no one saw for a long time, which was vital for me to determine if this was what I actually wanted to do for the rest of my life.” Osment made his Broadway debut in “American Buffalo” just two years later. After finishing college, the actor continued to work in the business.
Osment originally portrayed a young kid star with a talent for seeing the dead, but he changed things up and started playing a lot of “bad guy” roles. He said, “Playing a lot of evil men at that time was absolutely really entertaining.” Osment’s departure from his baby-face persona was a component of this, and he even developed a beard “to attempt to conceal in public.” He acknowledged that it “didn’t really work at all,” however.
Despite the spooky and evil parts Osment plays, the actor has an obvious appeal. Osment’s career hasn’t entirely been free of scandal, either. He was fined and given a rehabilitation term after flipping his automobile in 2006 while driving under the influence before being placed on three years of probation. It was a “bad blunder” that “could not have had less to do with Hollywood,” according to the actor.
Hollywood is unfortunately all too familiar with watching young talents go down a bad road. Many aspiring young actors, actresses, and music stars have the whole world in their hands but regrettably discard it after making one error. But Osment was an exception to this rule.
“I believe that a bigger number of individuals than most people realize had excellent experiences working as youngsters,” Osment stated. The kid stars who grow up and “go on to something else that works for them” or just leave their profession behind in general don’t appear to get much media attention, he said.
Osment flourished in the acting scene and put in a lot of effort to be relevant in the entertainment business, despite the fact that he had previously discussed the notion of child stars growing up and discovering new hobbies within the profession or even other passions entirely.
He has appeared in a number of films and TV series, such as “Entourage,” “The Kominsky Method,” and “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.” Since 2002, Osment has provided voiceovers for the “Kingdom Hearts” video game series.
In 2015, Osment discussed his experience working on the “Entourage” movie with Desde Hollywood. He remarked, “I read the screenplay, realized how much fun the role was, and was extremely enthusiastic to perform it. I auditioned for it towards the end of 2013. “After auditioning, it took a while before I heard back. I was working on set the next week, and it happened out of the blue.
Along with familiar stars like Osment and Billy Bob Thornton, the film starred members of the TV show’s original cast, including Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, and Jeremy Piven. Several A-list celebrities, including Liam Neeson, Jessica Alba, and Tom Brady, made cameo appearances in the movie.
Osment had seen the TV program before appearing in the film. He recalled viewing it with his pals when it first came out while he was still in high school. “When I was offered the part in the movie, I probably watched it quite a bit again. Being on set with these people after being so used to the program for such a long time was incredibly weird.
One of Osment’s favorite aspects of shooting “Entourage” was getting a chance to try his hand at a new kind of character. I really like playing this character—a man with this accent and a really particular way of expressing himself—he stated. “I didn’t know Billy Bob Thornton was going to portray my dad in the movie when I went for my audition. Working with him and Jeremy Piven was great pleasure.
The original cast, the new actors, and all of the cameo actors appeared to enjoy working together on the set, in general. It was simply a very great situation to be in, Osment said, “with all the cameos and everything.”
He continued by saying that some of the appearances were pre-planned while others appeared extremely erratically when word of the film spread. According to Osment, there was always a chance that a cameo appearance might be made by someone unexpected.
Osment spoke about how much fun it was to create the 2020 thriller comedy-drama movie “Death of a Telemarketer” in an interview with Looper. The actor called Khaled Ridgeway’s writing “very crazy unreal” and said it was wonderful to work with such a “fun group.”
Lamorne Morris, a close friend of Osment’s for a long time, was one of the cast members. Previous collaborations between the two were “Sex Ed” in 2013 and “Nightmare Time” in 2016. And during shooting, Osment relished “doing some wild and crazy things late at night” in addition to enjoying working with an old buddy.
Osment, who has already done a lot, has played a significant role in the entertainment industry since he was a very young man. As a young actor, he had remarkable success and was well-liked by both audiences and critics. Even though he faced challenges and controversy as he got older, Osment persisted in his success and shown his genuine enthusiasm for acting.
In a 2015 interview with Desde Hollywood, Osment discussed his career’s future moves. Although acting is his “first passion” and the only thing he will ever do professionally, he also dabbled in writing and directing while in college. “I truly appreciate what I’m doing, so perhaps in the next stage of my career I can add that to it.”
Given the number of IMDB credits he is now working on, it seems that this Hollywood celebrity won’t be disappearing anytime soon. He recently voiced the roles of Casey Jones and Foot Soldier 3 in the 2022 movie “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie.” The Dave Franco-helmed film “Somebody I Used to Know,” which also stars Alison Brie and Osment, is now in post-production and is scheduled for release in 2022. Osment has more projects in various states of creation.
The actor, now 34, has undoubtedly advanced since his “The Sixth Sense Days.” Osment stated, “I simply feel happy that I’m able to do something that I’ve always done and continue to have it be my work today.
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