Child stars who were plucked out of nowhere as Adolescence actor rises to fame
Looking back on some big names.
Adolescence has taken the country – actually, the world – by storm, with the hit Netflix series one of the most watched TV shows on the planet right now.
The crime drama, which dropped on March 13, follows the life of a family whose world is turned upside down when their 13-year-old son Jamie is accused of murdering a school friend.
Adolescence has been roundly praised for its technical one-take wizardry, and the performances of its central cast, including Stephen Graham, Erin Doherty, and 15-year-old prodigy Owen Peters.
Owen’s portrayal of Jamie has already been recognised as one of the finest debuts on TV, with many critics and commentators calling for him to be showered with awards.
The role of Jamie in Adolescence is the first of Owen’s career, with the young actor proving that generational talent can come from anywhere.
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Here are seven other child actors who were plucked out of nowhere to become global stars and stand among the most successful actors of all time before the age of 20.
Dev Patel Dev Patel was the son of a care worker, living in Harrow (Picture: Lia Toby/Getty Images)Dev Patel is one of the most recognisable faces in TV and film these days, with the actor and filmmaker having been part of some of the biggest productions of recent times.
The 34-year-old actor was just 16 when he was cast as Anwar Kharral in the 2000s comedy drama Skins after E4 ran an open casting call, inviting anyone to audition for the series.
Dev was born in Harrow, London – the son of care worker and an IT consultant – and had never appeared in a major role before when his mum spotted the Skins casting advert in the Metro newspaper.
With no prior acting experience, Dev admitted that ‘the first day of shooting [Skins], I didn’t really know what to do,’ but that clearly didn’t stop him.
Dev was quickly transported to Hollywood where he starred in the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle – Dev was cast after Danny’s daughter told him to watch Skins.
Since then, he’s appeared in numerous popular and acclaimed films, including The Personal History of David Copperfield, The Green Knight, and his first directorial feature Monkey Man.
Maisie Williams She traded Bristol for Westeros after being cast as Arya Stark (Picture: Getty Images)Maisie Williams was just 12 years old when she was transported from Bristol to Westeros after being cast as Arya Stark in the American fantasy series Game of Thrones.
Raised by her mum and step-dad as the youngest of four siblings in a council house, Maisie nearly missed her Arya audition because of a school trip to a local farm.
After being told by her mum to attend the audition instead, she landed the role on what would ultimately become the biggest TV series of the 2010s in one of its biggest role.
Catapulted to international fame, Maisie left school at 14 and finished her education without any qualifications, eventually revealing that it took its toll on her.
She told GQ: ‘I think that when I started becoming a woman, I resented Arya because I couldn’t express who I was becoming, and then I also resented my body.’
Since Game of Thrones ended, Maisie has starred in Doctor Who, Marvel film The New Mutants, and as Catherine Dior in the recent American drama The New Look.
Mila Kunis Mila Kunis came to the US as a refugee in the early 1990s (Credits: WireImage)Mila Kunis was born in Ukraine in 1983 when the country was still part of the Soviet Union – the daughter of a school teacher and a mechanical engineer.
Her family arrived in the United States as refugees in 1991 with Mila unable to speak a word of English, leaving her feeling isolated and upset at school.
Things changed when her dad encouraged her to join an acting school for kids in Los Angeles, eventually resulting in her landing one-episode roles on The Days of Our Lives and Baywatch.
Her big break came when she was just 14 after she was cast as Jackie Burkhart in That 70s Show, alongside Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, and her eventual husband Ashton Kutcher.
From there, she landed the role of Meg Griffin on Family Guy and got her big break in Hollywood when she appeared as Rachel Jansen in the 2000s romcom Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Millie Bobby Brown Millie Bobby Brown grew up ‘scared about landlords’ (Picture: Ursula Coyote/Netflix)Stranger Things actress Milly Bobby Brown had some TV experience before being cast as Eleven in the Netflix sci-fi show while still at primary school.
But that doesn’t mean it was all sunshine and roses, with the 21-year-old admitting this week that growing up with ‘no money’ has made her very financially conscious.
She told Call Her Daddy: ‘I have a money thing where I’m very conscious about money. When I do spend money on something, I have to call my parents, I have to think about it, I don’t just buy it right away.’
The Electric State actress, who was 11 years old when she first appeared opposite Finn Wolfhard and David Harbour in Stranger Things, added: ‘I really like to be transparent: I grew up with no money.’
Millie continued, talking about her upbringing in Marbella, Spain and the south coast of England: ‘I did not grow up with any money — we never owned a house.
‘I remember buying a house with my parents and being able to do that because, for the first time, we were able to actually not be scared about renting and the landlords.’
Jamie Bell Jamie Bell was just 14 when he won the Bafta for best actor (Picture: Giles Keyte/Tiger Aspect Pics/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)Twenty-six years ago, Jamie Bell was an ordinary 13-year-old boy living in the small town of Billingham, raised by single mum Eileen and his older sister Kathryn.
When auditions were held for the role of Billy Elliot in the upcoming coming-of-age drama, Jamie competed against 2,000 other hopeful boys on the day.
Having taken up an interest in ballet after watching Kathryn in her classes, Jamie excelled at the audition and was cast as the boy who takes up ballet, much to the dismay of his parents.
The film received widespread acclaim and Jamie was catapulted to national stardom, winning a Bafta for best actor at the age of just 14.
Since then, Jamie has gone on to have a long and healthy career on the big screen, starring alongside Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott in the recent drama film All of Us Strangers.
He has also starred in Peter Jackson’s King Kong, he was cast as Tintin in Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin and recently appeared as Bernie Taupin in the Sir Elton John biopic Rocketman.
Keke Palmer Keke Palmer was the main breadwinner at a young age (Picture: Piyal Hosain/Fotos International/Getty)Born and raised in Illinois, Lauren Keyana ‘Keke’ Palmer was the daughter of two former actors who gave up on their Hollywood dreams in the 1980s to raise a family.
While her dad became a factory worker, her mum began teaching children with special educational needs, and Keke only first stepped onto a big stage at the age of nine.
Just two years later, she was cast in the sequel to the Ice Cube film Barbershop, which lead into her signing a lucrative deal with Atlantic Records.
By 2007, she had starred alongside High School Musical star Corbin Bleu in his film Jump In, and was the lead of True Jackson VP on kids channel Nickelodeon.
Speaking to The Cut about being the breadwinner for the family at such a young age, she remarked on the pressure that was placed on her young shoulders.
‘There was so much pressure to rise to the occasion for my community, for my parents, for my siblings, for their sacrifices. I hated my parents for a long time.’
Brooklynn Prince Brooklynn Prince and Willem Dafoe starred in The Florida Project in 2017 (Picture: by Michelle Quance/Variety/Penske Media/Getty)American actress Brooklynn Prince was only six years old when she was cast as Moonee, a child growing up in poverty in the 2017 movie The Florida Project.
Written and directed by Oscar-winning director Sean Baker, The Florida Project follows the story of Moonee and she and her young single mother Halley try to survive day-to-day while living in a Florida motel.
The film, which has a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 8.8 out of 10, also starred veteran actor Willem Dafoe.
Brooklynn, and the other young children cast in the film, was praised for her performance, even winning a Critics Choice award for best young actress.
Despite it being her first feature film performance, Brooklynn stole the show for numerous film critics as The Florida Project earned its budget back five times over.
Since appearing as Moonee, Brooklynn has starred in The Lego Movie 2, the Apple TV show Home Before Dark, and the 2023 comedy horror film Cocaine Bear.
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