Birth name
Haley Joel Osment

Height
5' 5"

Mini biography
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" 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 Sixth Sense, The (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. 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.

IMDb mini-biography by
Jim Beaver <<jumblejim@prodigy.net>>

Trivia
Brother of Emily Osment
Auditioned for Anakin Skywalker in "Phantom Menace", but didn't get a callback.
Son of Eugene Osment
Is the youngest winner ever of an individual MTV Movie Award.
Became the eighth-youngest nominee for a competitive Academy Award in 2000.
He's a big lover of lizards. He owns two leopard geckos from Pakistan as pets, an as a favorite past-time likes to catch and release lizards in his backyard or on vacations.
is a straight-A student
Hopes to go to Yale University.
Haley's favorite food is Chinese food and he eats it constantly.
Started acting at age 4.

Personal quotes
"I think I got the feel for it from my dad. He's a great actor. He's been acting on stage for 12 years now. And I got the feel immediately. Dad's been helping me all the way. It comes naturally for me. I think it got passed down from dad..." - Haley Joel on his inspiration for acting.
[on his acting performances] "It's a team effort at my home, even when I'm nine time-zones away."
"I try to keep away from being bigheaded. That's what causes people to lose the acting thing. They start being commercial, and then they stink for the rest of their life. But there are several respected adult actors who were child actors that started very young. I'm going to try and model myself after Kurt Russell and Jodie Foster. Just keep learning from the role and not just go for the money."
"I carry my sense of trying to learn, my curiosity and my memory." - On what he never leaves home without.

Salary
Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
$2,000,000
Pay It Forward (2000)
$1,000,000