Haley Joel Osment filmography and biography
Date of birth: 10 April 1988, Los Angeles, California, USA
Haley Joel Osment biography
American child actor who at this writing (2000) has proven himself
perhaps the best young actor of his generation. The son of actor
Eugene Osment and teacher Theresa Osment, Haley was chosen for a
commercial at age four after a casting director spotted him in a
furniture store with his parents. Within months, he had landed a small
but memorable role as Tom Hanks's son in
Forrest Gump and a starring role as Edward Asner's
grandson on the TV series Thunder Alley. His comedy
skills were manifest very young, and he followed
Thunder Alley with two more sitcoms.
Norman Jewison gave him his first leading role on the big screen
in Bogus, and he proved completely at ease in this
dramatic role. However, it took the smash hit
The Sixth Sense to brand the young actor on the public
consciousness. His devastating performance as the haunted Cole Sear
brought him an Oscar nomination at age 11 and a memorable tribute at
the awards from winner Michael Caine (I): "Once I learned of
your nomination and saw your performance, I knew for sure you would
win." Since then, Osment has given an equally powerful performance in
Pay It Forward. Along with bravura performances, he has
developed an equal reputation in the industry for unspoiled
professionalism. His younger sister, Emily Osment, has made
several impressive film and television appearances as well.
Osment began acting at the age of four, when he tried out for a Pizza
Hut commercial in a shopping mall. The commercial launched his career,
and he landed his first television role later that year. As a young
child, his first film role was as Forrest Gump's son,
also named Forrest Gump, in the 1994 film of the same name as well as
making a small appearance in Mixed Nuts. He had roles in
numerous TV series, including Thunder Alley,
The Jeff Foxworthy Show, and, most notably, the final
season of Murphy Brown, in which he replaced
Dyllan Christopher as Murphy's son Avery. Osment also made
numerous guest appearances in various TV series, including
The Larry Sanders Show,
Walker, Texas Ranger (as a child dying from AIDS),
Touched by an Angel, Chicago Hope,
The Pretender, and as a child dying from leukemia in
the emotional episode 'Angels and Blimps' (1999) of the series
Ally McBeal.
Osment starred in Bogus with Whoopi Goldberg and
Gérard Depardieu, and appeared in the 1998 made-for-TV movie
The Lake (1998) (TV) with Yasmine Bleeth, as well as
Ill Remember April with future
The Sixth Sense co-star Trevor Morgan (I). He
first achieved stardom in 1999 when he appeared in the blockbuster
The Sixth Sense, co-starring Bruce Willis. For
this role, Osment won the Saturn Award for best young actor. He was
also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but
lost to Michael Caine (I), with whom he would later star in
Secondhand Lions. Osment (voice) also made three minor
guest appearances on Family Guy in 2000.
One of Osment's lines in The Sixth Sense, "I see dead
people," is often repeated or parodied on television programs and in
other media.
The 2000 Academy Awards ceremony honored another of Osment's future
co-stars, BestActor Kevin Spacey, who, along with
Helen Hunt (I), appeared in Osment's next film,
Pay It Forward. The following year, Osment appeared in
Steven Spielberg's Artificial Intelligence: AI,
cementing his stature as one of the leading young actors in Hollywood.
This role earned him his second Saturn Award. Also in 2001, Osment
starred in a Polish film, Edges of the Lord, as Romek.
The movie was never released theatrically in the United States. Osment
has since provided voices for The Country Bears and
The Jungle Book 2.
More recently, Osment was the voice of Sora, the main protagonist of the
Walt Disney Company and Square-Enix's Kingdom Hearts (2002) (VG)
video-game series, which was extremely financially successful as well
and generally well-received critically. He was also the voice of
Takeshi Jinno in the "Time to Shine" episode of the
IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix animé TV series. Osment also
worked in Home of the Giants, playing a high school
journalist opposite Ryan Merriman and Danielle Panabaker.
He also played Helmuth Hübener in the film
Truth amp; Treason.
On July 20, 2006, Osment was injured in a one-car accident. His
blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.16%, twice the legal limit in
California. On August 18, he was charged with four misdemeanors,
including driving under the influence of alcohol and possession of
marijuana while driving. He pleaded no contest on October 19 and was
sentenced to three years' probation, 60 hours in an
alcohol-rehabilitation and education program, a fine of $1,500, and a
minimum requirement of 26 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings over a
six-month period.
Haley Joel Osment trivia
- Older brother of Emily Osment
- Auditioned for Anakin Skywalker in
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, but didn't get
a callback.
- Son of Eugene Osment
- Became the eighth-youngest nominee for a competitive Academy Award in
2000.
- He's a big lover of lizards. He owns two leopard geckos from Pakistan as
pets and, as a favorite pastime, likes to catch and release lizards in
his backyard or on vacations.
- He is a straight-A student
- His favorite cuisine is Chinese, and he eats it constantly.
- Started acting at age 4.
- Ran cross country for Flintridge Prep.
- Favorite authors: J.R.R. Tolkien and Edgar Allan Poe (I)
- Favorite music: R.E.M., Coldplay, Radiohead,
Pink Floyd, Flying Lotus, and Led Zeppelin.
- His father, Eugene Osment, frequently makes cameo appearances in
his movies.
- Was wanted by Steven Spielberg to play Harry Potter when
Spielberg was considered to direct
Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone.
- Though Osment is now a well-known actor, what many people don't know is
that Forrest Gump, a very popular contemporary classic,
was one of his first films. That is not surprising, since his screen
time was only about two minutes, despite playing the son of the title
character. It was another five years before he became famous with
The Sixth Sense, another popular contemporary classic.
- He took a two-year break from filming after making
Artificial Intelligence: AI, before making a brief
comeback with Secondhand Lions, but he had plenty of
commitments during those two years of absence from the screen. His work
included making promotional tours for AI during the summer holiday in
2001, making TV appearances, and doing voice-over work.
- Although gossiped to be Steven Spielberg's favorite to play the
title role in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, had
Spielberg directed the film as once planned, Osment himself denied this
and was vehemently against the series even being made into films lest
the magic of the novels be ruined.
- He donated many items to Rocky Stone (I) to be given to
less-fortunate kids as part of the Toy Mountain Campaign.
- Was ranked #7 in E's 50 cutest child stars all grown-up.(2005).
- (July 2006) Fractured his right rib and right shoulder, and received
lacerations to his body when he lost control of his car and crashed
into a brick mailbox.
- (October 2008) Making his Broadway debut on the play American Buffalo.
Haley Joel Osment quotes
- "I think I got the feel for it from my dad. He's a great actor. He's
been acting on stage for 12 years now. And I got the feel immediately.
Dad's been helping me all the way. It comes naturally for me. I think
it got passed down from Dad..." - Haley Joel on his inspiration for
acting.
- [on his acting performances] "It's a team effort at my home, even when
I'm nine time zones away."
- I try to keep away from being big-headed. That's what causes people to
lose the acting thing. They start being commercial, and then they stink
for the rest of their lives. But there are several respected adult
actors who were child actors that started very young. I'm going to try
and model myself after Kurt Russell (I) and Jodie Foster.
Just keep learning from the role and not just go for the money.
- "I carry my sense of trying to learn, my curiosity and my memory." - On
what he never leaves home without.
- That professionalism comes from what I've watched people do on the set.
I'm just trying to be as respectful to the environment, as they have
been. I think I still act like a kid. I just try to be as professional
as I can.
- For me, choice is the most important thing because I'm going to be an
adult actor pretty soon. So I've got to be choosing the right roles now
so that by the time I get to that age there will be wide options
available.
- Age is definitely a factor because, at this age, you're very
age-specific. As a younger kid, you can play a wider variety of ages.
As a younger kid you can play a wider variety of ages, I guess, because
the voice hasn't changed and there's a physicality that progresses as
you get older. Now you can't play a 17-year-old when you're a
15-year-old, whereas when you're 10 you can play 8 or even 12. The good
part is that, especially with this movie, the changes that I am going
through are within the context of the film. So people pretty much know
where I am, age-wise, at this point, and that was one of the great
things about this film. It demonstrates that that's the direction I'm
going in.
- It's hard to act terrified when you have 200 crew members around you.
- My friends are definitely more important than my career. If I had to
choose, I'd choose my friends over my career.
- Being different personalities brings out some of the personalities that
you have, too. So I guess I have become a more well-rounded person.
- It makes me feel great when other young actors say they look up to me. I
hope I can be a positive role model.
- It's important in selecting films that have that feeling behind them,
there's a place for films that are just light and entertaining, but for
me it's most important to find the films that will last.
- [about not getting as much attention, or is it a relief] "I guess it's
not so much a relief because being recognized is not a problem. It is
more relaxing not being noticed as much. Also, it's not just that I'm
not recognizable. I think people relate better when you're older,
because I think they have more respect for your age. As time goes on, I
think people are becoming more respectful out in public. So it's never
been a problem. It's just been interesting to watch."
- Academically, it's actually pretty easy learning between the tutor and
actual school, with people at school, it's been pretty easy as well.
There's just a great group of kids in my school and they've been real
understanding of my career.
- feelings about being forgotten: "I don't think there's any fear. With
acting, you can never count on there being work available. It's
whatever's there, so I don't think there's any fear. It's possible.
Someday, there may not be any work, but I guess that's not something
I'm worried about. If I just keep doing the right roles, I think that
won't be a problem."
- Harry Potter, we were never really interested in. It never crossed a
desk with us. Nothing really happened with it. Myself, I felt that it
should have stayed a book. I never would have wanted to do the film.
It's a great book and 70 percent of the book is your own imagination
and putting in where the author has purposely left the gaps so kids can
sort of put in their input and sort of custom read the book and I think
that's one of the most brilliant parts of the novels and when the movie
comes out it's going to be a stereotype for people when they read the
book.
- "It's important to find roles with characters growing up. Gar is one of
those characters that moves me along the time line in my career." [His
character in Home of the Giants].
- I try not to let the fame part of it be a factor in everyday life.
Because when it comes down to it, the only thing that's important to me
that has to do with the fame is just the work on the set and the acting
part of it. And the result of that acting is, as you say, can be fame,
but I try not to concentrate on that too much because that's not the
most important thing about this business for me. It's about the work.
And I think if I continue to focus on that, I hope that my career will
be able to continue as well as it has been going so far.
- Being a teenager and stuff, where you have the responsibility to do
things right, I mean sometimes people are going to look up to you,
that's your obligation as an actor, or as someone who's in the public
eye, to do the right thing. You've got to keep your record clean
because it's your responsibility to everyone who's ever watched your
film, and that's something that you sign on to when you work on a film,
when you get into this business that is something that you take with
the acting, you know, the responsibility of life outside of that. So I
guess that it's a little more pressure, but it's good pressure, you
know? It's a motivation to do good things. Not that I wouldn't anyway.
- (About his drunk-driving accident) With regard to that incident,
whatever attention has been given to it, I brought it upon myself. So I
would definitely not say that my childhood in this business caused that
in any way but the response to it is definitely something that is
affected by my place in the business. So for me it was a good lesson.
You can't blame the press for giving attention to incidents like that.
It was an extremely important learning experience for me to try and
stay in check and do the right things, like I always should.
- (About his 2006 DUI) That night was an example of being a foolish high
schooler sort of screwing around before college starts. It's
unfortunate that when those things happen, they just talk about
Hollywood when really we have a national problem ... with all types of
substances and types of dangerous behavior. ... You know, by treating
it just as a Hollywood thing, we ignore the fact that ... it can happen
to anybody.
- There's so much to learn about acting and performance in general. ... I
mean, acting is a very complex art, and there are a lot more theories
and methods and techniques to it than I think anybody would think. ...
Some of our best respected film and stage performances come from people
like (Marlon) Brando and everything, and they studied their entire
lives,
- I'm never interested in the business of promoting myself. I really don't
care if people know who I am or what's said about me. I'm just here to
do a job.