12 Teen Actors From TV Shows And Movies Who Struggled To Consecrate Their Profession

Many actors start their careers as children with successful films or series. But as fantastic as it sounds, sometimes these roles become a curse that leaves them branded into a type of character. Many have chosen their next career steps carefully and have struggled to prove that they are more than pretty faces or friendly teenagers.

we, from awesome.clubwe took a look at the careers of several actors and actresses who managed to convince us that they really are talented.

Leonardo DiCaprio began working at age 9 as a supporting actor in the television series All in the Family (1991-1992) and in Gremlins 3 (1991), the horror film for adults and children. Although his first Oscar nomination came with Gilbert Grape: The Dreamer’s Apprentice (1993), when he made Romeo and Juliet (1996) and Titanic (1997), he once again positioned himself in front of audiences as a handsome-faced boy.

In 2002, the actor collaborated with acclaimed director Martin Scorsese, and it was thanks to Gangs of New York and Catch Me If You Can (2007) that there was a change in his career. Today, we can see him in multi-award-winning films like The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) and The Revenant (2015).

At age 18, Blake Lively starred in the teen movie Girlfriends and a Traveling Jeans (2005) alongside Alexis Bledel, Amber Tamblyn and America Ferrera. From 2007 to 2012, Blake gained recognition for her role as Serena van der Woodsen on the teen series Gossip Girl.

After that, the actress began to get involved in more serious and in-depth films. In 2015, The Amazing Adaline Story gave her the opportunity to take on a different role, and in Café Society she collaborated with Woody Allen. In The Rhythm of Vengeance (2020), her character distanced herself a lot from Serena, a role that she also knew how to play very well.

Zac Efron rose to fame with the High School Musical trilogy (2006). Because he acted, sang, and danced (and seemed to do them all well), he earned the nickname teen star. But when the Disney franchise ended, Zac began to show that he could do so much more.

In 2012, he starred in Obsession alongside renowned actors like Matthew McConaughey and Nicole Kidman, and in 2014 he demonstrated his comedic skills alongside Seth Rogen in Neighbors. In 2019, he surprised us in Ted Bundy: The Irresistible Face of Evil, playing the notorious killer.

Although she acted at age 12 in Panic Room opposite Jodie Foster, we usually remember Kristen for playing Bella in Twilight (2008). When the series ended with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 in 2012, Kristen decided to go another route.

In 2014, alongside Julianne Moore, she starred in Still Alice and, in 2016, she starred in the successful thriller Personal Shopper. In 2021, with the debut of Spencer, Kristen again gained attention playing Lady Di.

Jared got his start in television and impressed with his role in Dog Life (1994-1995), although he became best known for his music career as a singer in the band Thirty Seconds to Mars.

He had roles as a supporting actor in Fight Club and Girl Interrupted, both from 1999. From then on, he began to accept only challenging or controversial roles, such as in American Psycho (2000), and stood out in the lead role in Requiem for a Dream (2000). 2000). In 2014, her role in the drama Dallas Buyers Club won her an Oscar.

At age 11, Christina dazzled as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family (1991) and as the beautiful teenager Kat who befriends the ghost of the house in Gasparzinho, the Fantasminha Camarada (1995). But Christina’s career didn’t end there. In 1999, she worked with Tim Burton on The Legend of the Headless Horseman and made Monster: Killer Desire in 2003 with multi-award winning actress Charlize Theron.

In 2021, he began to participate in the horror series Yellowjackets, and a new movie as a protagonist that will be released in 2022, Monstrous, whose theme is supernatural.

At age 13, Joseph starred in the Disney classic Angels Enter the Field (1994). In 1999, he starred opposite Heath Ledger in the comedy 10 Things I Hate About You. But the actor decided not to stop there.

He stood out in the romantic comedy 500 Days of Life (2009) and then in 2010 he participated in the film Inception by famous director Christopher Nolan. In 2011, Joseph starred in 50%, in which he plays a 27-year-old diagnosed with cancer.

It’s hard to think of Daniel Radcliffe and not remember him as a 10-year-old in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. After the series ended, Daniel had time to carefully choose what his next role would be, the one that would distance him from the famous wizard’s character.

In 2007, Daniel starred on Broadway in Equus, as a young man with a strange fascination with horses, to critical acclaim. The actor has also accepted roles in drama or mystery films, such as in Victor Frankenstein (2015) and Dead Man (2018).

Mandy became known as a pop singer, and when she started acting, she had to prove that she was much more than that. In 2001, she participated in O Diário da Princesa and, at 18, starred in Um Amor para Recordar (2002).

It was thanks to Galera do Mal! (2004), a satirical teen film, which began to stand out and demonstrate everything it was truly capable of. Since 2016, you can see her in This is Us, playing Rebecca Pearson, a role that earned her several Emmy nominations.

Like Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson rose to fame in the lead role in Twilight (2008). But Robert took drastic measures to avoid being just a 2000s teen icon.

The actor prioritized working with renowned independent directors such as David Cronenberg and David Michôd, and each role brought him recognition, as in Z: The Lost City (2016), in which he was almost unrecognizable. His last role was in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet (2020).

Ryan Gosling was one of the actors who, alongside stars such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake, became famous for acting in Mickey Mouse Club (1993). Afterwards, he played the handsome hero Hercules in 1998.

But then the actor made a drastic decision that would definitively separate him from the role of handsome young man: in 2001, he played a young anti-Semitic Jew in Zero Tolerance, a role that put him on the radar of several directors. That was just the beginning of his career as a dramatic actor.

Do you remember famous actresses or actors when they were still children? Which surprised you?