Jerry Maguire child star Jonathan Lipnicki: 'Adult career transition has been rough'

It’s a tough world out there for child stars, as many who have fallen foul of the movie business will gladly attest.

Jonathan Lipnicki was just six when he stole the show from Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr and Renee Zellweger in ‘Jerry Maguire’.

He also starred in ‘Stuart Little’ three years later, and movies like ‘Doctor Dolittle’ with Eddie Murphy, and ‘The Little Vampire’, based on the popular book series.

Now 26, he revealed to Yahoo Movies in the US that it’s not always been easy.

“Most careers, you have 20 years of experience, and it’s a good thing,” he said. “With acting, the biggest career mistake I ever made is going to public school.

“I would never take that back, I loved it. But it’s been hard, the transition, it’s rough.

“People think I’m still five, or 10. It’s just about reminding people that I’ve grown up.”

As for working less in order to have a more normal life in his teens, he said that it ‘wasn’t a big decision’.

“It just happened. I just started auditioning a little less. I always wanted knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

“I had a great little run — Jerry Maguire, Stuart Little 1, Stuart Little 2, Little Vampire, Like Mike — all good studio films,” Lipnicki went on.

“But the best thing that ever happened to me was not working. Now I go to acting class. I’ve done theater… I’ve really just rediscovered loving doing it.”

Obviously in the interim years, he’s changed some from the cute, glasses-wearing young chap, and is now pretty buff, training in mixed martial arts as well as acting.

Lipnikci was chatting to Yahoo around the release of the 20th anniversary edition of ‘Jerry Maguire’, which is out soon.

Read more
First look: Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson
Jimmy Fallon’s Golden Globes telepromter fail
Batman v Superman dominates Razzie nominations