Undoubtedly one of the best young actors of his generation, Haley Joel Osment is perhaps best known for his roles in The Sixth Sense, in which he played an isolated child who could see dead people, and A.I Artificial Intelligence, playing a highly advanced robotic boy longing to be loved like a "real" boy.
In both of these iconic films, audiences fell in love with Osment’s captivating performance, which led him to become one of the 90s’ most prolific child actors. While there's often a stigma attached to being a child star, Osment has managed to lead a relatively normal life, continuing to act after stepping out of the limelight soon after reaching the height of his fame. Here, we take a look at 10 things you probably didn’t know about Haley Joel Osment.
He has an Academy Award nomination
Osment was nominated in 1999 for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Sixth Sense, and was the first millennial male to have received an Academy Award nomination for acting. At the time, he was the second-youngest actor to receive a nomination for playing a supporting role. That same year, he received Golden Globe and Screen Actor Guild Award nominations.
He was charged with a DUI
His career was halted for a short time in 2006 when he was charged with three misdemeanors including driving under the influence, after being involved in a single-driver car accident. Aged 18, he was sentenced to 60 hours of alcohol rehabilitation and education, in addition to receiving a $1,500 fine.
M. Night Shyamalan didn’t want to make The Sixth Sense without him
Haley Joel Osment’s audition for the highly sought-after role of Cole Sear in The Sixth Sense was so impressive that when he left the audition room, M. Night Shyamalan said that he didn’t want to make the movie if Osment wasn’t going to be in it.
Thankfully, it all worked out for Shyamalan, who achieved a box-office triumph with the film, earning six Oscar nominations and making one of the most referenced movies all time, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
He started his acting career at age 4
His career started with an audition for a Pizza Hut commercial at a shopping mall, and the rest is history. The television commercial launched his career and in 1994 he was cast in his first film role alongside Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump’s son, also named Forrest Gump.
He appeared in many huge 90s television shows, including Walker, Texas Ranger, Touched By An Angel, and Ally McBeal. He then went on to star in the two biggest movies of his career thus far, The Sixth Sense in 1999 and Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence in 2001.
He’s the older brother of Hannah Montana star Emily Osment
Haley Joel Osment’s younger sister, Emily Osment, is probably best known for playing the role of Hannah Montana’s best friend Lily Truscott, alongside Miley Cyrus. Emily has also had roles in Friends, 3rd Rock from The Sun and Touched By An Angel, in addition to recurring roles in the Spy Kids franchise and Family Guy.
He comes from an acting background
Keeping it in the family, his father Eugene Osment, frequently makes cameo appearances in Haley Joel Osment’s movies, having pursued an acting career himself. Eugene has appeared in movies such as Bogus, Pay It Forward, and A.I. Artificial Intelligence alongside his son, while also starring in another of Spielberg’s masterpieces, Minority Report. Haley has been quoted numerous times saying that his desire to act came from his father’s love for the art.
He’s voiced many animated characters
It may have seemed like Osment disappeared from the acting scene after A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and while he did take a two-year break, he has voiced several characters in various animated series and movies throughout his lengthy career.
He was a regular on Family Guy for two seasons from 2000-2001, voiced Mowgli in The Jungle Book 2 and has credits in American Dad, The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2 and Hey Arnold!, to name just a few.
He voiced the character of Sora in Kingdom Hearts
In addition to voicing characters in animated series, Osment has also voiced the main character of Sora in the English version of the hugely successful video game series Kingdom Hearts, which has achieved an impressive 17-year run.
The story of the game follows Sora and his childhood friends, Riku and Kairi, who all live on the Destiny Islands but dream of venturing away from their home to see what else is out there. The game features cameos from Donald Duck and Goofy, among other iconic characters.
He was rumored to play the title role in Harry Potter but was against the movies ever being made
When Steven Spielberg was initially attached to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, rumors were alight that Osment was in the running to play Harry Potter himself.
Spielberg ended up not being part of the project, and Osment later denied that he was ever attached to the movie either, going so far as to say that he was actually against the movies being made because it would detract from the magic of the books.
He starred in the highly-anticipated Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
For those who maybe hadn’t seen Osment since his child-acting days, he made a much-welcomed return starring alongside fellow former child actors Zac Efron and Lily Collins in the docudrama Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile earlier this year – a biographical crime thriller centered around the life of serial killer Ted Bundy. Osment played the compassionate co-worker Jerry Thompson to Bundy’s girlfriend Liz in the film, who he also ends updating, once she finishes with Ted.