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Name: Haley Joel Osment
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Date of Birth:
April 10, 1988
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Place of Birth:
Los Angeles, California, USA
Mini-bio:
For audiences around the world whose ears ring with the haunting and fateful revelation of a child tortured by terrifying visions of the afterlife, Haley Joel Osment may forever be linked to his role ... read morein what would rank among the most popular supernatural thrillers ever made, The Sixth Sense (1999). An Oscar nominee at the age of 11, Osment quickly became one of the most recognized and versatile young actors working in film, proving to audiences that his talents exceeded typecasting by constantly tackling new and challenging roles and characterizations.Born in Los Angeles, CA, on April 10, 1988, Osment set his acting career into motion, as many actors do, by appearing in commercials and taking small roles on television. Accompanied by his father to an audition for a Pizza Hut commercial and initially discouraged by the overwhelming amount of children vying for the role, Osment eventually stuck out the wait at his father's request and landed the role that would launch his career. Soon making his feature debut as the son of the titular shrimp slinger in the phenomenally successful Forrest Gump in 1994, Osment alternated between television (Murphy Brown and The Jeff Foxworthy Show) and film (Mixed Nuts and Bogus) while frequently appearing in such made-for-TV movies as The Ransom of Red Chief before making his breakthrough in director M. Night Shayamalan's The Sixth Sense.Following the success of The Sixth Sense with the well-intended but fatally flawed feel-good failure Pay It Forward, Osment escaped relatively unscathed as critics recognized the young actor's exceptional performance in what was otherwise a flop with critics and audiences alike. Imagination was the key to Osment's next project: director Steven Spielberg's long-anticipated, much-hyped A.I. An elaborately futuristic tale of an android that aspires to experience human emotion, A.I. was the first and only collaboration of two of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century, the late Stanley Kubrick (who conceived the story based on Brian Aldiss' short story Supertoys Last All Summer Long) and Spielberg. In addition to appearing onscreen, Osment lent his voice to a number of animated films in 2000 and 2001, including the Disney sequels The Hunchback of Notre Dame II and The Jungle Book II. After once again providing voice work for the comedy musical The Country Bears, Osment returned to the screen body intact with Secondhand Lions in 2003. Cast as an intorverted youngster whose irresponsible mother sends him off to spend his summer with his eccentric uncles in Texas, Osment's onscreen abilities were key in making his character's transformation from withdrawn child to responsible young man believable. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Haley Joel Osment mini-bio: 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 4 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' son in Forrest Gump (1994) and a starring role as Edward Asner's grandson on the TV series "Thunder Alley" (1994). His comedy skills were manifest very young, and he followed "Thunder Alley" (1994) with two more sitcoms. Norman Jewison gave him his first leading role on the big screen in Bogus (1996), and he proved completely at ease in this dramatic role. However, it took the smash hit The Sixth Sense (1999) 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: "Once I learned of your nomination and saw your performance, I knew for sure you would win". Since then, he has given an equally powerful performance in Pay It Forward (2000). Along with the 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.
