Haley Joel Osment's earnestness made his troubled children believable and remains useful in his adult comedy. We like the comic actor, but would welcome parts that ask as much of him as the early leads did.
Fi1m perspective
In The Sixth Sense (1999), Haley Joel Osment makes a frightened, isolated boy credible enough to carry a supernatural story. We were moved by Cole Sear's distress, because Osment lets it matter without asking us to find him adorable. That seriousness remains useful, even as the parts have turned towards comedy and less agreeable men. We rate him most when a film gives his commitment something specific to do, rather than relying on the audience's affection for the child he once played.
Forrest Gump (1994) was his first film role, as Forrest Junior, but it tells us relatively little about what he would become. Robert Zemeckis's fable gets its warmth chiefly from Tom Hanks, who avoids condescending to his character. We find the film too long and too comforting about American history, despite its technical assurance. For Osment, the more useful starting point is the run of child leads that followed, including David in Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), which gave him a demanding central part.
The adult comedy is worth taking on its own terms, rather than treating it as an afterword to the child performances. In Silicon Valley, as Keenan Feldspar, and The Boys, as Mesmer, he has found room for comic timing and less innocent characters. We like the willingness to play oddballs and menchildren, though those parts carry a risk of leaving him with a manner to play and too little else.
Blink Twice (2024) gives him Tom and a place in another well-chosen ensemble, this time under Zoë Kravitz. The rich men who talk like their therapists are funny, and the casting suits his move into dark comic company. Once the mystery is explained, though, the film has less to say than it thinks, and a good ensemble cannot repair that. It is worth considering for the performances if dark satire is your territory, with modest expectations of the writing. For Osment's comic timing, we would start with Silicon Valley.
Biography
Haley Joel Osment is an American actor. He began his career as a child performer with a role as Forrest Junior in Forrest Gump (1994).
Osment received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Cole Sear in The Sixth Sense (1999). He later appeared in leading roles in Pay It Forward (2000) and A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). He made his Broadway debut in a 2008 revival of American Buffalo.
His subsequent credits include voice work in animated projects and television series such as The Boys (2019) and Wednesday (2022). He played Tom in Blink Twice (2024). Osment graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2011. His sister is actress Emily Osment.
