Jonathan Lipnicki was one of the most prominent child stars of the late 90s and early 00s, but the actor has opened up about his career struggles in a candid new interview.
Looking at a younger picture of Lipnicki you will likely remember him from the hit 1996 film Jerry Maguire where he played the adorable Ray Boyd, alongside Tom Cruise and Renée Zellweger.
If not that, then probably some of his kid friendly films like 1999’s Stuart Little or even 2002’s Like Mike.
But while all of these films ended up being big hits, it unfortunately didn’t translate into a flourishing career for Lipnicki and the star admitted his career hasn’t panned out exactly how he wanted as he issued a heartbreaking career update to fans.
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Taking a break from the big screen
As many child stars do, Lipnicki eventually took a break from acting in order to focus on his school work.
In the 00s his output reduced to a trickle as a result, only picking up the brief occasional role as he made high school his main focus.
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He also decided to hone his craft by taking acting classes, and said this was the ‘best thing’ he could have done for his career.
Lipnicki's career comeback
Following this, Lipnicki opted to make a return and starred in more Independent films as well as taking to stage work in Los Angeles.
As well as this, he also went viral for images circulating on social media showing that he had ‘grown up’ and gotten in enviable shape.
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This was due to his mixed martial arts training, as his family owns a company that promotes fights.
He opted not to get into the fighting scene seriously and continued to pursue his dream of acting instead.
However, he has noted that many of the things he has starred in since his return to Hollywood, people haven’t seen, even if they were good.
Speaking to People, the 34-year-old said: “I had some really good things that happened when I was younger.
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“It's totally fine to say I'm not where I want to be career-wise. Everything we're doing in this life is nearly impossible.”
What adult roles has Lipnicki been in?
Speaking of his adult career, he said: “I've had half-and-half in my adult career where there are some things that were really good and nobody saw them.”
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He added that he has no regrets about what he has starred in but insisted he will be picking more carefully as he goes forward.
He said: “To be quite honest, I said no to about five movies in the last year. I just really want to turn this ship around.”
Looking at his IMDb page between 2011 and 2021, very few of the projects he has starred in are household names.
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Many have also struggled in the review department, with many having IMDb scores under 5.5 .
Some of his more recent roles include starring in Camp Pleasant Lake (2024), Secrets at the Museum (2023), and The Re-Education of Molly Singer.
Lipnicki's future in acting
Despite the struggles, Lipnicki has insisted he is committed to acting and still wants it to be his career as he remains optimistic his best is yet to come.
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He added: “This is the thing I want to do for the rest of my life, and I think you just have to believe it's going to happen and do everything in your power to take action in the right direction.
“And I pray every night for clarity on where I need to go, and I'm confident the best is yet to come for me.
“And I think you just have to believe that. If you're going to pursue this, you're doing yourself a disservice not to dream big.”
Topics: Film and TV, Hollywood, Celebrity
Gerrard Kaonga