Haley Joel Osment | The Lowdown on the Child Star

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Haley Joel Osment Overview

Who can forget the iconic “I see dead people” line from the suspense film The Sixth Sense? In 1999, Haley Joel Osment played the role of the kid who had a sixth and who could see and talk to dead people. Haley was only 10 when he starred in the film alongside Hollywood action legend Bruce Willis. Other box office films soon followed, and this includes Pay It Forward, with Kevin Spacey. This inspirational movie encouraged a nationwide movement of carrying out good deeds and helping strangers. Thankfully, this still continues.

Haley Joel Osment was also the child star in the 2001 Pinocchio-esque film A.I., playing the part of an artificial boy who wanted to become real. This time, Haley was opposite renowned English actor Jude Law.

What happened to Haley Joel Osment?

Haley Joel Osment’s popularity soared in the late 90s to the early 2000s with films such as Sixth Sense, Pay It Forward, and roles including the young Forrest Gump Jr in the titular movie. He earned nominations for many of his performances.

However, as with a number of child stars, when stardom burns bright, it can fade, too, and those youngsters struggle to continue their success into adulthood. Unfortunately, Haley Joel Osment was one such individual, and he found it hard to land new movie roles.

During this period, in 2006 the actor had a car crash, resulting in a broken rib and some nasty bruising. It later transpired that he was intoxicated, and as a result was given probation, and enrolled in a rehab program.

It appeared that Haley Joel Osment was back on track after this slight derailment … until … as filming began for his 2019 movie release, he had a meltdown at Las Vegas airport. Reportedly shouting ‘Do you know who I am?’ and ‘I’ll destroy you’, the cops were called to deal with the 29 year old. We’re wondering if he was still seeing dead people – or flying elephants?

Where is Haley Joel Osment now?

Haley Joel Osment is now back on his track as an actor. After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2011, he made close to 15 films, including Entourage, Sex Ed, and Bad Therapy. He also appeared in the TV shows The Kominsky Method and Robot Chicken. Now in New York, Haley Joel Osment is back on his A game after starring in Zac Efron’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. This 2019 biographical offering is the story of infamous serial killer Ted Bundy. Although he has made a name for himself playing very bad, very nasty characters – you know, the ones that show no remorse, it’s good to see him batting for the other team once more.