Child Actors From Holiday Movies Whose Lives Took A Turn After Leaving The Spotlight

Nothing beats curling up on the couch with a hot cup of cocoa in hand and settling in to watch your favorite classic holiday movie. For many of us, it’s one of the best parts of the festive season. But have you ever stopped to wonder what angelic Cindy Lou Who is up to today? Or what those adorable little girls from The Holiday look like now? And what about the rest of our favorite festive movies’ child actors? The young stars in those films may be forever frozen in time in our minds, but once the cameras stopped filming, their lives kept on rolling.

Thomas Brodie-Sangster

Starred in: Love Actually

Played: Sam

When: 2003


As lovesick young boy Sam in Love Actually, Thomas Brodie Sangster and his romantic running-through-the-airport moment will long live on in our hearts. While acting opposite veteran Liam Neeson, he held his own at just 13 years old. His performance got him noticed, and the young star steadily booked project after project following his role in the iconic British festive movie. But what about today?

20 years later...

Nowadays, Brodie-Sangster is in his early 30s, but fans can't help but point out that he still looks practically the same. It seems his youthful appearance plays to his favor when it comes to getting roles. Brodie-Sangster's credits include Jojen Reed in the wildly popular Game of Thrones, the box office-booming The Maze Runner series, and his Emmy-nominated role in The Queen's Gambit.

Jake Lloyd

Starred in: Jingle All The Way

Played: Jamie

When: 1996


"It's Turbo Time!" was the catchphrase of the beloved action superhero TurboMan that Jake Lloyd's character Jamie wanted for Christmas in the Jingle All The Way. And his acting career certainly took a turbo boost after appearing in the holiday classic. Just three years on from his appearance alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lloyd joined the ranks of the Star Wars Universe with his big break as Anakin Skywalker. But all that success soon came to a standstill.

Bullying, jail-time, and a psychiatric hospital

After Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace received shockingly bad reviews from fans, Lloyd's acting in the dud movie soon became the target of harsh online vitriol. Not only was the young star the butt of the internet's cruel jokes, but he was also mercilessly bullied by his classmates at school. All the negativity that stemmed from his acting career led Jake to ditch the industry for good in 2001. Things in his personal life weren't much better as the years rolled on, either. Following a high-speed chase with police in 2015, Jake was diagnosed with schizophrenia, for which he later received treatment.