20 child actors who should have won an Oscar

If the Academy always recognized movies with box office appeal, then Macaulay Culkin would have received several awards before he turned 13. He was holiday gold with Home Alone, but it was his role in The Good Son that proved he was more than a family-fun film star. He played evil like no other, sometimes worse than Damien from The Omen. It was a shock to see, as Culkin was known for lighthearted stories, but he absolutely delivered and should have been awarded for it.

Every millennial has key pop culture points seared into their mind: the beginning of Juvenile’s “Back That Azz Up,” Mortal Kombat fatalities, and the scene in My Girl where Anna Chlumsky screams with all her might, “He can’t see without his glasses.” It’s one of the most heartbreaking scenes in movie history, as well as one of the best performed.

In a sea of adolescent fear and chilling clownery, Sophia Lillis rose above to be the it factor of 2017’s IT.

Billy Elliot was a huge hit, considering the budget was $5 million, and it went on to make over $100 million at the box office. It also helped introduce the world to Jamie Bell. In his debut film, he played the titular role, a boy who just wanted to dance. Billy Elliot  went on to inspire a stage production that later starred future superhero Tom Holland. The movie also scored three Oscar nominations, but none were for Bell. Weird.

Horror isn’t the Academy’s favorite genre, but when the movie is undeniable, the Academy can’t help but celebrate it. This is what happened with 1973’s The Exorcist. With 10 nominations and two wins, The Exorcist garnered one for its youngest star, Linda Blair. Unfortunately, she did not win Best Supporting Actress. She actually lost to the youngest winner ever, Tatum O'Neal.

A movie like Matilda is never supposed to see the Oscar stage. It’s more of a Kids Choice Award, which, let’s be real, is kind of cooler as the statue is an orange blimp and there’s a possibility of getting slimed upon winning. Nevertheless, Matilda should’ve been nominated not only for Best Adapted Screenplay but also Best Actress for Mara Wilson. The pint-size bookworm with telekinesis was a star, but even though she didn’t win or even get nominated, she is still regarded as an icon to many for the role.

Had River Phoenix not passed at 23, he would’ve had an Oscar by now, and while he won a Young Artist Award for Stand by Me, many would argue it should’ve been more.

Quvenzhané Wallis became the second-youngest female actor to be nominated for an Oscar when she earned a nomination for her role in Beasts of the Southern Wild in 2013. It was a stacked year for the Best Actress category, and Wallis eventually lost to Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook.

Little Miss Sunshine felt like the modern-day retelling of The Little Engine that Could,  with itty bitty Abigail Breslin as the tenacious engine. She, along with the rest of the cast, was amazing. So much so that she did score a Best Supporting nomination in 2006 but inevitably lost to Jennifer Hudson for her role in Dreamgirls.

The Goonies is a pop culture mainstay, and for good reason. Who doesn’t love a group of down-on-their-luck kids who have to save the day? Also, there is a pirate element. Yeah, The Goonies was destined to live on in the pop zeitgeist forever, but it’s a shame that Sean Astin never got more for leading this pack of kids, especially given that inspired speech in the well.

When Mae Whitman was 9 or 10 years old, she played Sandra Bullock’s daughter in Hope Floats, a movie that perhaps every Boomer mother made their children watch in 1998. Great movie, but even greater performance from Whitman in one of the most heartbreaking scenes in which she chases her father out to his car, pleading for him to essentially care for her as much as she cares for him.

Kick-Åss was always going to be a movie that was a box office hit, a favorite among the MTV and Teen Choice Award crowds, but if there was one reason for that movie to see the Oscars, it was Chloë Grace Moretz’s performance as Hit-Girl.

Moonlight would eventually win Best Picture after a showstopping mix-up at the 89th Academy Awards, but it would’ve been nice to see its younger star, Alex R. Hibbert, in the mix for nominees as his performance was on par with his older castmates, Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris, both of which were nominated.

There are a handful of actors who’ve played Wednesday Addams from TV to animation, but it’s hard to argue that Christina Ricci isn’t the Wednesday Addams, right? She took on the role twice and, in the sequel, stole the show with the entire summer camp plot.

Dakota Fanning has been a powerhouse for a very long time, having shared scenes with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, from Denzel Washington to Tom Cruise, but it was her time alongside Sean Penn that felt oddly overlooked as he received a Best Actor nomination for I Am Sam. She deserved just as much praise as Penn in that film, as she brought it just as much as he did.

The War was not a box office hit, nor do many people remember it, but it had the makings of an Oscar favorite. It dealt with race, extreme poverty, and had Kevin Costner. Alas, it didn’t fare well with critics, receiving only a 25% rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer. Despite that, it’s hard to deny that Wood wasn’t a force to be reckoned with in this film as Stu Simmons.

Spike Lee gave the world Crooklyn in 1994, and it was Zelda Harris’ debut film. One would have only been able to guess that based on her age, as she was only nine when the movie was dropped. However, her talent was impeccable as she played the only girl in a family overrun by boys, who was on the verge of losing her mother. Touching, heartbreaking, and comical at times, Harris captured all of that and then some. 

A Little Princess is not a movie that wins Oscars, but Liesel Matthews should’ve gotten something for her leading role in this one as she does not miss a beat as a little girl apparently left an orphan due to war, and was forced to be a servant at the boarding school she was once student and resident at.

Was Haley Joel Osment robbed when he lost the Academy Award for The Sixth Sense ? Michael Caine, who won for The Cider House Rules, might disagree, but many would argue, yes, he was robbed.

Anton Yelchin was a teenager when he filmed and starred in Alpha Dog, so technically still a kid, so he’s making the list because the final scene with him in that movie is one of the most gut-wrenching performances ever caught on film. A marvelous actor gone too soon!