Child Star Casting Calls: Where Are They Now?

As generations come and go, each of them always has child actors who take the world by storm with their unforgettable movie performances. From there on it is anyone's guess if they will successfully transition as adult actors, or disappear from the public eye.

Below, take a look at three iconic child acting roles, and what happened to those young stars from then on.

Harry in the Harry Potter film series

It would have been only a matter of time before the widely successful Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling became a live-action film franchise as well. But the work on what ended up becoming one of the most successful cinematic franchises of all time actually started before the majority of the world had even heard about these novels.

British film producer David Heyman read the first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, in 1997, kicking off the process that two years later resulted in Rowling selling the film rights to Warner Bros. Pictures.

The casting calls for the first movie began shortly after, with Rowling’s demand that the principal cast be kept strictly British and Irish wherever possible being part of the deal. The movie’s director Chris Columbus was watching the BBC drama David Copperfield at a hotel, with one child actor's performance particularly catching his attention. The kid actor possessed qualities that supposedly aligned perfectly with his vision for the Potter character. The kid was Daniel Radcliffe.

Despite the director's wishes, the casting directors for the movie were not sold on the English boy being the man for the job. The primary reason was the fact that Daniel’s parents had concerns about their 11-year-old son starring in such a major movie, and the effects it could have on his childhood and wellbeing.

Finally, Heyman convinced his parents to allow Radcliffe to audition for the role, and following auditions, the production staff wanted him as the titular character over nearly 1,000 other candidates. The boy himself was now hesitant whether he wanted to commit to eight films, as well as relocate to the United States. So, compromises between both sides were made, with the initial deal being for only two movies, and the plans were changed for the shoot to take place in the United Kingdom instead of Los Angeles.

On August 23, 2000, Daniel Radcliffe was officially announced as Harry Potter. And he ultimately did end up starring in all of the eight movies in the series.

Since finishing the series, Radcliffe has been working hard to leave Potter’s shadow, appearing in a diverse set of roles across various mediums, including TV series and theater. As a result, he has successfully transitioned from a child star of a major franchise to become a renowned versatile actor, as well as a producer.

Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Following the commercial and critical success of Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, development soon began on the follow-up. Once George Lucas had finalized the plot, which ended up being a prequel to the first film, and Steven Spielberg was back on board as the director, the casting calls for the additional cast to join Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones was ready to take place.

One of the new characters was planned to be a sidekick to Indiana Jones, with the casting directors searching for a young child actor to portray the adventurous Short Round. It is reported that around 6,000 actors auditioned worldwide for the part.

Amongst the casting call candidates auditioning at Castelar Elementary School in Los Angeles, California for the role was 13-year-old, Vietnamese-born Ke Huy Quan, who arrived together with his younger brother. Despite no prior acting experience, Spielberg and the production staff took a liking to Quan's personality, with the boy improvising together with Ford, who already was a huge movie star at the time, a scene where Short Round accuses Indiana Jones of cheating during a card game. With the chemistry between the two being established so quickly, Quan got the role, with his debut ending up being a major one.

A year later, in 1985, his second role was no less significant, being cast to star in The Goonies as Richard "Data" Wang. Unlike the previous two actors we covered, after an impressive start to his acting career, it, unfortunately, was not all smooth sailing from there for Ke Huy Quan, who started to experience trouble getting cast for acting gigs more and more.

At the age of 23, he was finally frustrated by the lack of acting opportunities and decided to quit acting. He moved on from performing, yet still wanted to be involved in the film industry, enrolling at the University of Southern California and graduating its film school. Quan started to work on the other side of the camera as an assistant director and stunt choreographer.

It could have been a fine story about how there are plenty of other options if the child's acting does not translate into adulthood. Yet in 2018, he started to reconsider his decision, and after a 19-year-long hiatus returned to auditions.

His second role upon his return was the 2022 critically acclaimed Everything Everywhere All at Once. The role of Waymond Wang and his alternative versions from other universes earned Quan various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Talk about second chances!