'Matilda:' Here's Why Child Actors Go Nuts

Mara Wilson weighs in
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 29, 2013 10:02 AM CDT
Updated Jun 1, 2013 7:00 PM CDT
'Matilda:' Here's Why Child Actors Go Nuts
Mara Wilson played Matilda in 'Matilda.'   (YouTube)

Mara Wilson—perhaps better known to some as Matilda or the little girl in Mrs. Doubtfire and Miracle on 34th Street—is all grown up now, and she's glad she was never "Olsen twins famous," she writes on Cracked. Perhaps inspired by the recent troubles of Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes, among others, Wilson offers up seven reasons child actors frequently lose it:

  • Their parents are awful. Sure, some child stars—like Wilson—have supportive parents. But most parents push their kids into acting, and a lot of them misuse the money their children rightfully earned.
  • Their "teams" are even worse. Even the awful parents often lose control over their children to the dreaded "entourage."

  • They get spoiled. If the aforementioned parents don't keep their kids grounded, child stars get used to lots of attention and entitlement. Once they cease being adorable and lose that attention ... the you-know-what hits the fan.
  • They are often sexually exploited. Brooke Shields and Natalie Portman have talked about the difficulties of feeling like a sex object in their teens. Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, and others have said they were sexually assaulted by adult men.
One possible solution? Use CGI actors instead of real-life kids, Wilson suggests. Hey, Twilight did it for its vampire baby! Click for Wilson's full piece, which is pretty funny. (More Mara Wilson stories.)

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