15 Stars You Forgot Were Child Actors

There are plenty of grown actors whose childhood careers you're pretty familiar with (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson), but sometimes there are actors who had a memorable role as a kid and then rose to prominence some time later. That (and their matured visages) sometimes makes it hard to remember them, but that's why we're here. We've found 15 current stars who had a memorable childhood role (or two) — and some of their roles as younger people may blow your mind a little.

01
Tyler Posey
MTV

Tyler Posey

You know him as the sexy (often shirtless) star of Teen Wolf, but did you know that he played the kid of a sexy diva in a memorable '90s romantic comedy?

Tyler Posey
Columbia Pictures

Tyler Posey

That's right: Posey costarred with Jennifer Lopez in Maid in Manhattan. Did you catch their reunion in 2014?

02
Tyler Hoechlin
MTV

Tyler Hoechlin

And Posey isn't the only Teen Wolf Tyler with a child-star past.

Tyler Hoechlin
Dreamworks

Tyler Hoechlin

In 2002, Hoechlin played Tom Hanks's son in Road to Perdition.

03
Kat Dennings
CBS

Kat Dennings

Dennings is most recognized now for her role as filthy-mouthed waitress Max on the TV series 2 Broke Girls.

Kat Dennings
HBO

Kat Dennings

And back in 2000, Dennings was just as foul-mouthed (if not more) as precocious teen Jenny Brier, one of Sam's clients, on Sex and the City.

04
Gaby Hoffmann
HBO

Gaby Hoffmann

Hoffmann has been making waves as offbeat characters in the past few years, like her role on Amazon's hit Transparent and the part of Adam's sister on Girls. If her face looks familiar to you, let us tell you why.

Gaby Hoffmann
Universal Pictures

Gaby Hoffmann

Hoffmann was just 7 when she played Kevin Costner's daughter. She had a thriving career as a child star, also memorably appearing in Now and Then.

05
Joaquin Phoenix
Warner Bros.

Joaquin Phoenix

He's created controversy (I'm Not There) and earned praise in Her, but do you know how far back Phoenix's career goes?

Joaquin Phoenix
20th Century Studios

Joaquin Phoenix

Well, it goes all the way back to 1986, when he made his starring debut in SpaceCamp! (He was just 12.)

06
Evan Rachel Wood
Everett Collection

Evan Rachel Wood

Maybe you knew that Wood was a child star (seen here in Into the Forest), but did you know she got her start before her breakout role in Thirteen?

Evan Rachel Wood
Everett Collection

Evan Rachel Wood

Here she is as Lainey Christian Taransky in the 2002 Al Pacino film S1m0ne.

Mae Whitman
20th Century Studios

Mae Whitman

And here's where she perfected her cry-face: in movies like Hope Floats, as Sandra Bullock's sensitive daughter. (She was also adorable as George Clooney's daughter in One Fine Day.)

08
Anna Paquin
HBO

Anna Paquin

Paquin played Sookie Stackhouse for seven seasons on True Blood, but before she was a telepathic faerie, she got her start very, very young.

Anna Paquin
Miramax

Anna Paquin

Paquin starred with Holly Hunter in The Piano — and snagged an Oscar at the tender age of 11. (Bonus: remember when she played Freddie Prinze Jr.'s little sister in She's All That?)

09
Christa B. Allen
ABC

Christa B. Allen

The glamorous Charlotte Grayson on ABC's Revenge had an adorable and memorable breakout role as a child star, but do you remember it?

Christa B. Allen
Columbia Pictures

Christa B. Allen

Yep, Allen played the younger version of Jennifer Garner in 13 Going on 30!

10
Kristen Stewart
Everett Collection

Kristen Stewart

You know her well as Twilight's leading lady, and since then she has had much more grownup roles, like in this year's Cafe Society, but do you remember her pre-, pre-Bella days?

Kristen Stewart
Columbia Pictures

Kristen Stewart

There was this role, in Panic Room, in which she played Jodie Foster's daughter when she was just 12.

11
Jake Gyllenhaal
The Weinstein Company

Jake Gyllenhaal

The dashing actor has become an in-demand leading man, but do you remember what he was doing before movies like Southpaw?

Jake Gyllenhaal
Columbia Pictures

Jake Gyllenhaal

Yes, cute little Gyllenhaal was acting — remember him as Billy Crystal's son in City Slickers?

12
Logan Lerman
Summit Entertainment

Logan Lerman

The young star who is so affecting in The Perks of Being a Wallflower got started earlier than the Percy Jackson franchise.

Logan Lerman
New Line Cinema

Logan Lerman

His cute little mug also played young Ashton Kutcher in 2004's The Butterfly Effect.

13
Jenny Lewis
Everett Collection

Jenny Lewis

Jenny Lewis pays homage to her child-star past in her music video for "She's Not Me." She memorably re-created this dance . . .

Jenny Lewis
Paramount Pictures

Jenny Lewis

From Troop Beverly Hills! That's her on the far left.

14
Nicholas Hoult
Everett Collection

Nicholas Hoult

British heartthrob Hoult (seen here in Kill Your Friends) has broken out in the last few years in films like Mad Max: Fury Road and as Hank (aka Beast) in the X-Men movies, but he had a very memorable role as a kid.

Nicholas Hoult
Universal Pictures

Nicholas Hoult

He was Marcus in 2002's About a Boy — yes, the kid who lived to annoy Hugh Grant.

15
Joshua Jackson
Showtime

Joshua Jackson

Though we will always know him as Pacey Witter, Jackson has established himself in another TV role as Cole on Showtime's The Affair.

Joshua Jackson
Everett Collection

Joshua Jackson

But he already had a breakout role before Dawson's Creek — as Charlie in The Mighty Ducks!

Child Stars You Forgot About
Everett Collection

Child Stars You Forgot About