'Stuart Little' star Jonathan Lipnicki reveals why he stopped acting
Stuart Little star Jonathan Lipnicki has revealed the reason why he quit acting for a long time.
The actor was one of the big child stars of the 1990's and early 2000's, starring alongside Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire, as the lead in both live action Stuart Little movies and also in 2003's Like Mike.
Read more: Jerry Maguire star Jonathan Lipnicki reveals childhood bullying and depression
Now, in an interview with /Film, Lipnicki has revealed why he stepped away from the industry before coming back in recent years to star in straight-to-DVD projects.
Lipnicki said: “The biggest transition for me was…I didn’t work for a long time. And people always frame that as, ‘Oh, I went to high school,’ and whatnot. And that’s the story that people tell sometimes when they don’t work. Or if they’re a child actor or whatever, they took time off. I did take time off, in the sense that it wasn’t the only priority I had. But I didn’t work because I just didn’t work. I didn’t really get any roles for a while.”
He also said he didn't believe he was talented enough: “I’m honest about that. And it was because [I] wasn’t a very good actor at one point. Because the great thing about being young, a kid, is there’s this nice inherent childlike wonder. And that’s why a lot of kids you see are quite talented. And filters come in and you become nervous…or the world comes into play. And so for me, I went from just doing the natural thing to trying to be like my favorite actors.”
Lipnicki stated that being understudy to Chris Pine for a production of Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore helped him regain his confidence.
He said: “I got to see Chris work, and I got to see some amazing actors in that production work. And it was really inspiring. I never went on because everyone was so young and healthy. But I got to really rehearse on this really difficult material. And so that was a formative experience in its own way.”
Now 31, Lipnicki has recently starred in a number of straight-to-DVD movies including Limelight, The Delivery and A Second Chance.
Watch below: 3-year-old's emotional reaction to watching Stuart Little for the first time.