The price of child fame

By TIM WATKIN

The Hollywood logic goes like this: First, children are only nominated for Oscars if they're in a heavily nominated film in contention for other major awards. For proof look at the only other Oscar winners aged under 18. The Miracle Worker scored five nominations, including best director and actress, when 12-year-old Patty Duke won the best supporting actress award playing Helen Keller. When Tatum O'Neal became the youngest ever Oscar category winner, aged 11, Paper Moon had four nominations, including two for best supporting actress.

Second, children only ever get nominated in supporting actor categories, no matter the size of their roles. O'Neal was essentially the female lead in Paper Moon, but Hollywood couldn't handle a 10-year-old going up against the likes of Joanne Woodward and Glenda Jackson. And despite critical acclaim, 14-year-old Jamie Bell in 2001's Billy Elliot - nominated in three major categories - was ignored by the Academy because his part as the film's title character couldn't be treated as a supporting role.

Given modern sensibilities towards children, the Hollywood Reporter late last year quoted Hollywood "experts" as saying "today's Academy would never nominate a showbiz kid in a leading actor category".

So much for Hollywood logic. Keisha Castle-Hughes turned both those assumptions on their heads this week with her best actress nomination in this year's Academy awards. Just 13 years old - 11 when she played the part of Paikea in Whale Rider - she is the youngest person to be nominated for an award in a leading role and one of only 16 actors under 18 to receive what Hollywood calls an "Oscar nom".

With such rare and spectacular success, the new assumption is that she has Tinseltown at her feet. That she can pick and choose her next few roles and a glorious career is hers for the taking. Certainly Castle-Hughes wants to keep acting. "I enjoy it," she told the Weekend Herald, "and I don't see why I shouldn't carry on if I get the opportunity."

But while further success is undoubtedly possible for a girl with such talent, it's no more certain than those other assumptions. What she has now is opportunity. No one can say for sure how Keisha, the sequel, will end.

The most cursory of glances at the fate of successful child actors is warning enough that what comes next might not be all award ceremonies and dinners with Orlando Bloom.

Names such as Macaulay Culkin and River Phoenix are enough to strike terror into the heart of any parent whose child has half a chance of becoming a star. Never mind Tara Reid's anorexia, Gary Coleman's bankruptcy and convictions for fan-bashing ... The list goes on. Greed, egos and drugs - all in great quantities - are an LA cliche, but are also as dominant as ever.

Susan Smith is the manager of New Zealand actress Melanie Lynskey, who starred in Heavenly Creatures aged just 15 and is only now winning regular, notable roles in films such as Coyote Ugly and Sweet Home Alabama. The youngest woman in Hollywood to open her own agency in 1969, she sighs and says "this community's made up of so many superficial arseholes. We've had to spend so much time battling jerkoids".

Winning the prize, while guaranteeing a snippet of immortality, doesn't bode any better for Castle-Hughes. Only three minors have won Oscars, and of those only Anna Paquin can be said to have handled the transition to adulthood well.

Duke's career was taken over by managers she's since called "tyrannical" and "obsessed with fame". She left home at 16 and was soon addicted to pills and alcohol and suffered sexual abuse. She attempted suicide and went through three marriages - one lasting just 13 days - before finding happiness with her fourth husband.

O'Neal, taken out of school to act by her father, actor Ryan O'Neal, became well-known at Hollywood parties from the time she was 9. She too turned to drugs when puberty set in. Her father advised they would keep her slim. However, her teenage movies bombed and, an addict, she married, then divorced tennis player John McEnroe.

Shirley Temple, the most photographed child ever, and Judy Garland, star of arguably the most watched movie of all time, The Wizard of Oz, both won honorary Oscars as children, but neither is a great role-model for a 13-year-old who wants to act. Temple stumbled her way through a few teenage films before giving up and Garland, while a huge star, could never quite shake a drug habit she began as a teenager and died at 47.

(As an example of a full life beyond film, however, Temple later went into politics and served as US ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia.)

Greer Robson, who became New Zealand's most famous child actor when she starred in Smash Palace as a 9-year-old, says as a child "you just absorb [the pressure] and cope with it. You don't realise the effect it's had on you until you're much older."

While emphasising that her fame was small fish compared to Castle-Hughes' whale-sized portion, Robson says child stars pay a price for fame.

"You have a lot more freedom when you're anonymous. When you're that age and being thrown into an adult world all the time in a very adult industry, you become a lot more like an adult and grow up very fast."

Jill Westenra, mother of singing sensation Hayley, agrees that it's hard for a child to adapt to the adult demands of the entertainment industry. It can be lonely, she says, and emotionally draining. There's the small talk, always looking your best, always being the centre of attention.

"You are constantly meeting people who can make or break your career or offer you work that could change the direction of your career, so you are always on your best behaviour."

So much depends on the family offering unconditional love when the rest of the world is focusing on the child's triumphs and failures, she says.

Of course such risks and struggles are only one possibility. Keisha could have a much happier ending.

"It's all pretty exciting," says Westenra. "You're meeting famous people, dressing up. That's pretty exciting stuff for a young girl. Stuff you're not even supposed to dream about."

Even the most tortured teen can find a way back. Drew Barrymore, who starred in ET as a child before getting lost in drugs and bad relationships, has recovered to re-establish herself as a major star, most notably acting in and producing the Charlie's Angels movies.

You might be surprised just how many top-drawer stars started as children and have carved a flourishing career. Jodie Foster, the Oscar-winning actress and now director, is perhaps the pin-up girl for successfully negotiating a Hollywood transition from childhood fame to adult career, but add to that list Clare Danes and a certain hobbit called Elijah Wood.

Cindy Osbrink - agent for Dakota Fanning, who starred alongside Sean Penn in I am Sam in 2002 and became the youngest ever nominee for a Screen Actors' Guild award - offered the Hollywood Reporter some insight into making that transition.

"[Fanning's] so grateful for anything and everything. That's the big thing that kids lose. Once they almost expect [recognition] and they lose that humbleness, the magic's gone."

For Castle-Hughes the reality - with its danger and opportunity - is that she is now a bright spot on the radar of every casting director in Hollywood.

"This kind of attention raises her profile," says Gregg Kilday, film editor of the Hollywood Reporter, "so when there are major roles for young actresses on offer, an actress in her position becomes one of the main contenders."

Dade Hayes, senior editor at Variety, agrees. "People have registered now so, sure, she'll get lots of offers."

But he warns the next step is crucial. "It's about being selective. There's plenty of cases of people who just wanted to keep working or make money, and they quickly burn out."

While Hollywood loves a come-from-nowhere star, that love has a short life. As The Eagles sang, "They will never forget you 'til somebody new comes along". Smith says if Castle-Hughes wants to cash in on nomination, soon won't be good enough.

"The most important window is the six weeks - or in this case a month now - from when the nominations come out until the awards. The time to make hay with this is actually right now."

Frankly, she adds, Castle-Hughes won't win, so once the awards are over she will be just another ex-nominee.

Truth is, an Oscar nomination doesn't guarantee a career of any kind. Sitting back and waiting for success won't cut it.

"It's not a lifetime pass," says Hayes. "It only buys you opportunities."

And, in Castle-Hughes' case, those opportunities might not be as huge as expected. For one, the brutal fact is that her skin colour may limit the parts she's offered. "Just ask Halle Berry," says Smith. Also, a lot will depend on her ability to mimic accents - the roles she will be offered will be as American girls. And as a teenager, there are only so many parts available. Hayes says the temptation that must be resisted will be to accept adult parts too quickly.

Any future career options will also depend on how she matures. Even Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe "can't line up major movies", says Hayes. A lot depends on how he grows - his looks, height, voice ...

However, he adds that it's the specific nature of Whale Rider, rather than ethnicity, age, looks or voice, that might prove Castle-Hughes' biggest hurdle.

"In a way it's such a unique role and such a unique film that it's not immediately clear that she's going to be heavily in demand."

Then there's the competition.

"There are dozens, if not hundreds of talented kids in LA looking for the parts she might want, and a real question would be how much she or her family wants to go out and look for them," says Kilday.

For now, Castle-Hughes is saying she wants to stay in school. "I'd like to just finish school, and if I don't act until I'm older, then so be it."

That's good news to Robson.

"My parents were very strict about me keeping up my studies and always having options, and I'm really glad they were."

Smith gave Lynskey much the same advice.

"I always think people should have an education and learn to be a human being before learning to be an actor. If you are an interesting, smart human being, chances are you'll be a more interesting, smart actor."

Foster and Paquin are both examples of actresses who have worked during high-school and university. It just takes careful planning and a willingness to sacrifice summer breaks. But it would also involve overseas travel, something Castle-Hughes is wary of.

"I hate leaving New Zealand," she says. And she wouldn't want to live in LA. "I don't like it. It's crazy. Everyone lives up to certain expectations there. It's so film-dominated, everything is about film."

The main thing, says Smith, is not to rush. "Make the right choices, go slow, don't do too much. People don't want you if you're over-exposed."

While time away from the industry might require a re-introduction, says Smith, "she'll always have this piece of film ... People will remember the talent."

Paquin remains Castle-Hughes' best role-model. At huge risk with such early fame she has gained an education and built a well-respected career with a mix of specialty and blockbuster films. As top critic Roger Ebert says, "Paquin ... has grown up since her debut in The Piano to become one of the most gifted actresses of her generation".

So Castle-Hughes can afford to enjoy her moment without fretting too much about which path to take. As Smith says, "the way I look at it, there's always another movie".