10 child stars of classic horror films – where are they now? From Chloë Grace Moretz in The Eye and Kirsten Dunst in Interview with the Vampire, to The Shining twins Lisa and Louise Burns
Spooky season is back and many of us are busting out classic horror flicks for some chills and thrills to get into the spirit of things. But have you ever wondered what happened to the child stars who appeared in these iconic titles?
Some child actors who appeared in horror movies quit acting, like the twins from The Shining. Others went on to find even greater acting success, like Kirsten Dunst and Chloë Grace Moretz. Meanwhile, Abigail Breslin got her start in Signs, and still appears in horror films.
Here are 10 child stars you’ll recognise from some of the world’s greatest horror films, and a look at what they’re up to now …
1. Chloë Grace Moretz from The Amityville Horror (2005) and The Eye (2008)
In 2020, she played Maude Garrett in Shadow in the Cloud and Tom and Jerry in 2021. She’s set to star in the thriller White Night with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
2. Abigail Breslin from Signs (2002)
At 10 years old, Breslin became one of the youngest actors ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Little Miss Sunshine. Breslin has since appeared in a 2017 remake of Dirty Dancing and she’s continued to appear in horror films.
Breslin, now 26, has stayed true to her horror roots in Scream Queens (2015-2016) and Zombieland: Double Tap (2019).
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3. Carrie Henn from Aliens (1986)
Henn was nine years old when she was cast as space orphan Newt in Aliens, and had no prior acting experience. She won a Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor.
She made an appearance at the Comic Con 30th Anniversary panel for Aliens in 2016, with fellow cast members Sigourney Weaver and Bill Paxton, but has otherwise stayed out of the limelight. She’s now 46 years old.
4. Kirsten Dunst from Interview with the Vampire (1994)
She’s since appeared in iconic movies such as Spider-Man (2002), Bring it On (2000) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).
Now 40, she most recently starred in The Power of the Dog (2021), a thriller based on a book by Thomas Savage.
5. Haley Joel Osment from The Sixth Sense (1999)
His delivery of the line “I see dead people” remains an iconic horror film moment.
Osment, now 34, has continued acting, appearing in shows like Silicon Valley (2017) and The Boys (2019), and films such as Netflix’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019).
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In 2019, he told The Independent that there’s an expectation that child stars end up on a self-destructive path, but that wasn’t his experience.
“I think sometimes there’s an expectation for there to be that darkness,” he said. “But I think there are a lot more stories of people who had positive experiences working as children and didn’t have that kind of cliched storyline going forward. And that’s been the case for me.”
6. Twins Lisa and Louise Burns from The Shining (1980)
The movie was based on the 1977 novel by Stephen King. The Burns twins were 12 years old when they starred in the 1980 film.
Now 54, they haven’t acted since, but still appear at events related to the classic movie.
In 2015, the twins attended the Spooky Empire Ultimate Halloween Weekend in Orlando, Florida.
These days, Lisa is a lawyer and Louise is a scientist, British media reported in 2015.
7. Daveigh Chase from The Ring (2002)
Before that, Chase voiced Lilo in the Lilo and Stitch movie (2002) and subsequent TV show.
Chase, 32, still acts and does voiceover work.
Chase lent her voice to the show King of the Golden Sun (2018) and the video game Let it Die (2016) in addition to starring in films like American Romance (2016), Transference (2014) and Wild in Blue (2015).
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8. Miko Hughes from Pet Sematary (1989)
Hughes went on to star in the movie Kindergarten Cop (1990) as well as TV shows such as Beverly Hills, 90210 (1991) and Doogie Howser, M.D the following year.
Hughes, now 36, starred in the thriller Floaty in 2021.
He has also acted in the films The Untold Story (2019) and Remains (2011).
9. Alex Vincent from Child’s Play (1988)
He also starred in Child’s Play 2 in 1990.
Vincent took a hiatus from acting in 1993, and returned in 2008 for Dead Country before reprising his famous role.
Vincent, 41, joined the cast of Curse of Chucky in 2013 and Cult of Chucky in 2017. He also starred in a Chucky TV show in 2021.
10. Brandon Adams from Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker (1988) and The People Under the Stairs (1991)
Adams also played Jesse Hall in The Mighty Ducks (1992) and Kenny DeNunez in The Sandlot Kids the following year.
Adams took a break from the movie business to focus on his rap career, but he has since returned to act in smaller projects.
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Adams, now 43, has done voiceover work for several Kingdom Hearts video games. He also appeared in the short film Stuck in the Corners in 2014, the TV show Reborn in 2018, and The Resort in 2021.
- Spider-Man’s Kirsten Dunst was just 11 in 1994’s Interview with the Vampire with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, while Carrie Henn was nine years old in Aliens (1986)
- Haley Joel Osment continued acting after The Sixth Sense, as has Alex Vincent from Child’s Play, The Ring’s Daveigh Chase and Signs’ Abigail Breslin