13 Former Child And Teen Stars Who Have Opened Up About Helping Others Navigate Fame At A Young Age
1.First, while working together on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Jenna Ortega revealed that Winona Ryder, who became a household name at 17 years old when Beetlejuice premiered, helped her handle her newfound fame. Jenna told Harper's Bazaar, "She definitely helped me feel less alone," when speaking about Winona giving her advice after Wednesday catapulted her career.
Jenna continued, saying, "It's a very isolating experience and a scary one. Being able to speak to somebody who had witnessed that firsthand, maybe even more, was a great source of comfort for me, and I can’t thank her enough for that."
2.Winona Ryder has also given advice to the kids on Stranger Things about navigating fame at a very young age, specifically Millie Bobby Brown. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar in 2022, Winona recalled, "I'm always telling them, 'The work is the reward!' Because when I was that age, it was so hard to enjoy the fruits of my labor."
In the same interview, the Duffer brothers also remarked on Winona's ability to help her young castmates. Ross Duffer said, "I think she's really helped them. I know she’s specifically helped Millie a lot to work through that. And that’s something that no one else can help with, really, because so few people have experienced it. It’s not something I understand. It's not something that, you know, even a parent would understand."
3.Sean Astin got his start in movies at age 14 when he starred in The Goonies. So when he appeared in Stranger Things as Bob, he had a lot to offer to the young cast, who were also dealing with fame at a young age, just like he did. In an interview with EW, Sean said, "I think the only advice that I gave them was just to enjoy yourself."
He added, "For me, as an older generation now, coming into an environment where I did exactly what these kids are doing — and they all know it, and they're looking at me like, 'Oh, tell us stories.'"
In 2017, Finn Wolfhard spoke about getting to learn from Sean on the Stranger Things set, telling the Hollywood Reporter, "He is not just a great actor but also a great mentor and really just the highest quality human you could hope for."
4.In 2002, Kristen Stewart starred with Jodie Foster in Panic Room. The two have remained close since, and on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Kristen revealed the advice Jodie, who started acting at 10 years old, gave her back then. Jodie threw Kristen an 11th birthday party while they were on set and told her, "Don't forget, you're a kid."
Kristen recalled telling Jodie that all she wanted to do was make movies "until [she] dies," and Jodie told her, "You should do anything but that because you're a real human being," referring to having a life outside of the film industry. "It felt protective and nice," Kristen added.
Now, Kristen said when she sees child actors on set, she offers the same advice, often saying it's okay to take a break from acting and go to college, etc.
In 2017, Jodie even penned an essay for the Daily Beast defending Kristen from criticism following her very public breakup with Robert Pattinson.
5.Walker Scobell, who stars as Percy Jackson in Percy Jackson and the Olympians, received some advice from Logan Lerman, who played the role when he was 18 years old in the film adaptations. Logan told ComicBook, "I think when you're young, at least when I was younger, you almost forget to enjoy it as you're a part of it. I really enjoyed it while I was doing it. Just take each second in and enjoy the newness of what you're doing and being a part of something like that."
He added, "You're great. You're there for a reason. Just do your job." Notably, Logan also wrote Walker a sweet note congratulating him on booking Percy Jackson. He wrote, "You’re making a lot of people happy bringing these characters to life. I can’t imagine a better fit for Percy Jackson than Walker. You were so brilliant in The Adam Project. Hope you like eating blue food the next few years because I think you have a hit show on your hands."
Recently, while attending D23 in 2024, Walker opened up about meeting Logan, telling Access Hollywood, "I talked to him a lot about what it was like filming the Percy Jackson movies, and it's almost the same thing for us, actor-wise. He's just such a great dude. I talked to him for, like, 45 minutes. He's an amazing guy."
6.In 2017, Raven-Symoné began starring in Raven's Home, a spinoff of That's So Raven, which features her character now being a parent. Raven said she gave advice to Isaac Ryan Brown and Navia Robinson about being a child actor. She told BUILD Series, "I tell them to say, 'No,' and it's going to be hard."
Raven continued, saying, "You're new to the Disney Channel side of the industry, and they are going to be asking you to do this, this, this left and right. I've been in the industry since I was three. I've been on many promotional tours for shows for myself and others. And what I learned after I kind of retired from the industry when I finished Broadway for six months, and I didn't realize how important it was to say, 'No, I need a break. I need a 15-minute break.'"
7.While starring on Riverdale, Luke Perry said he often offered advice to his young costars because their rise to fame mirrored what he experienced during Beverly Hills, 90210. He told the NY Post in 2017, "I say, 'You guys got to do the same thing we did [on 90210], just concentrate on your work. Don't think about any of the other shit, the magazine covers, the this, the that — all that goes away if you don’t do your work."
Following Luke's death in 2019, KJ Apa, who starred as his son Archie on Riverdale, discussed the advice he got from Luke in an interview with E! News. He recalled, "I really do work hard on protecting my privacy, my home, my family, the people I love. Luke taught me that."
8.Tyler James Williams, who started acting at 7 years old, says now, when he works with the children in Abbott Elementary, he offers advice "to those who are paying attention" and he wants to make their experiences on set "as conducive to a child's experience as possible." He also told Variety that he's passed on the names of a few young actors to his former child agent.
Tyler continued, saying, "There are several kids who I’ve passed along to my old child agent like, “Hey, there’s something here.” Cindy Osbrink, one of the best child agents of all time. She had me, Dakota Fanning — everybody who made that transition."
He also explained how he can tell if one of the child actors on Abbott Elementary is curious about learning more and wanting his advice. He told Anthony Mackie during their Actors on Actors conversation, "There are certain kids, who you can see are looking at things differently. And they are asking, 'Why is that light moving?' or 'Why are we doing this again for this reason?' One kid asked me, 'What does 'swinging a lens' mean?' And I was like, You're really interested in this! Let me explain what's happening there. And you see their little light bulbs turn on."
9.Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland began starring together in the MCU with Captain America: Civil War when Tom was just 20 years old. RDJ, who made his first onscreen appearance when he was 5 years old, told Tom during his audition for Spider-Man, "I remember the feeling. I've been through this before and it is incredibly stressful. Enjoy the process and let your body take over."
In an interview with GQ, Tom added that he still uses that advice to this day.
Elsewhere in the same interview, RDJ also offered more advice for Tom as he began to look at life outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He said, "When you’re in the MCU, there’s a feeling of all life beginning and ending with it. But there’s life outside, too. I can confirm this. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. It’s funny, I bumped into Keanu [Reeves] 20 years ago at The Grand Havana Room in Beverly Hills. He'd just come back from shooting the first Matrix film. I asked him what it was like being in that Matrix world, and he told me it felt 'like being on another planet'. My point is Tom is on planet MCU, for now. But there's life afterwards."
In 2023, Tom also told UNILAD that RDJ remains someone he looks up to and the "most important lesson" he's ever learned was from RDJ.
10.While working together as mother and daughter in The Idea of You, Ella Rubin said Anne Hathaway gave her advice about navigating being an actor in your early 20s. Ella told Teen Vogue, "She helped me in a way that didn't make the work any less important. She helped me lower the stakes a bit. I was nervous, and I was really intent on doing a good job in a way that sometimes hindered me."
She added, "So I think I cared a little bit too much at times, and she helped me maintain that level of care, intention, and intensity towards my work while also kind of letting the bullshit go a little bit."
Ella also revealed Anne told her to take care of herself first and foremost, saying, "If you're not putting yourself first, filling your own cup and taking care of yourself, your work will suffer, and to do your best work, you have to feel your best."
11.William Zabka said his goal while working with all the young actors in Cobra Kai, like Xolo Maridue?a, has always been to "feed and mentor them," especially when it comes to being young actors in this business. Although he's offered some advice, William told Men's Health that he's learned a lot from Xolo and the rest of the cast, too.
He explained, "It's like real kids in real life. If you have kids, they give you back. I love working with Xolo and with Jacob and all the Cobra Kais, and all the kids. They energize me as an actor and the character. They make me rise to the occasion, and I hope the same is said back."
12.Jeff Bridges began his acting career as a baby, appearing in one of his father's TV shows. So, when he worked with then-14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit, he offered her some advice on how to navigate the industry. She recalled Jeff, as well as Matt Damon and Josh Brolin, telling her, "Every day have fun, don't take life too seriously."
She also told the Irish Independent, "They would come to work every day and be all of those things and go home to their families, and the next day they would come to work again, and they had the absolute most fun doing all of it."
Also, Hailee told People, "I was experiencing so many firsts, and I was surrounded by the best people that really took me under their wings and guided me every step of the way. I just remember being young and curious and so overexcited about absolutely everything."
13.And finally, Julia Roberts started acting when she was just 20 years old. So when her niece, Emma Roberts, started at a young age, Julia had a front-row seat to what it's like being a child and teen star today. In an interview with the LA Times, Julia talked about the advice she's given Emma, saying, "If you have a pure view of what you want to accomplish, I think you can maintain your sense of self."
Julia added, "When [Emma] comes to stay with us, I always think, 'Please let her be the same' — and she is still the same magical girl she used to be. I think so much of it has to do with your intentions in taking on a business like this."
