Being a superstar who gets to be on TV or in the movies at a young age can be quite the thrilling experience for any kid. For some who have had this privilege, the stars aligned for their careers and they went on to become established actors even in adulthood.
Natalie Portman, for instance, started her acting career as a 12-year old, with the film Léon: The Professional. Today, she is known for distinguished roles such as Jane Foster in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She is also a one-time Academy Award winner, to go with the one BAFTA and two Golden Globe awards in her portfolio.
Ethan Hawke, Keke Palmer and Scarlett Johansson are all massive stars today who started out as child actors. Not everyone is so lucky. Rider Strong became a fan favorite in the '90s for his portrayal of Shawn Hunter in ABC's sitcom, Boy Meets World. Strong has since disappeared from the world of acting, save for a cameo here and there.
Catapulted To Fame
Another child who found himself catapulted to fame while still relatively young was Ross Malinger. He was born in Redwood City, California in the summer of 1984 to a father who worked as a sales representative. Nonetheless, creative blood always flowed in the Malinger family. His father, Brian, also worked as a film producer, as did his mother, Laura. His two siblings, Ashley and Tyler Cole Malinger have also worked as actors.
Ross Malinger landed his first ever screen role in 1990, when he appeared as a rowdy kid called Elliott Brody in an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. He also featured severally in Who's The Boss, a sitcom that aired on ABC around that time. For his age, Malinger's career had gotten off to a very impressive start.
In the few years that followed, he continued to land small roles in films like Eve of Destruction, Late for Dinner (both 1991) and In Sickness and in Health (1992). In 1993, he appeared in the film that would make him world famous: Nora Ephron's romantic comedy, Sleepless in Seattle. He was set to star alongside Tom Hanks, who would play his father.
He Thought He Was A Big Shot
Sleepless in Seattle is the story of a widower called Baldwin (Hanks) who moves to Seattle with his son Jonah (Malinger) after his wife dies of cancer. In the new city, Baldwin becomes the subject of a female reporter's romantic wiles, who starts to stalk and woo him despite the fact that he is already in another relationship.
As a matter of fact, Malinger was not the first actor who had been cast to play Jonah. Another boy called Nathan Watt had landed the role, and even started filming. Unfortunately, Hanks apparently found it difficult to work with him, although the Forrest Gump star has since admitted that this was down to his own immaturity.
"I was an extremely cranky actor at that time," Hanks is quoted saying in a piece by the New York Daily News. "Coming in and saying, 'Why does the kid have so many good lines?' I had made enough movies to get smoked on a couple of occasions as well as thinking that I was a big shot and my voice must be heard."
Massive Achievement For A Small Boy
Malinger came in and did a good job on the film, and helped it rake in a profit of more than $200 million at the box office. The critical reception for Sleepless in Seattle was all the same not very good to start with, although appreciation for Ephron's artistic expression in the movie has been growing in the years since.
When the film premiered on June 25, 1993, Malinger was still a fortnight shy of his ninth birthday. It was a massive achievement for such a young boy, who had now added the stellar names of Hanks and Meg Ryan to the list of superstars he had worked with; he had already featured alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop three years earlier.
In 1995, Malinger joined Jean Claude Van Damme in the action thriller, Sudden Death. He continued featuring in a few movies, but most of his subsequent cameos were in various sitcoms throughout the '90s. As it turned out, Sleepless in Seattle was to be his last major role. He retired from acting after making an appearance in a 2006 episode of CBS' Without A Trace.
Since then, Malinger followed his father's footsteps and ventured into the world of business. His last known job was as manager at an automotive store, which was shut down in 2009.