Top 10 Roles Too Mature For Child Actors

No one ever said acting was easy. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 10 Movie Roles that Were Too Mature for Child Actors. For this list, we'll be ranking the films that featured roles that demanded a lot from their young thespians. Be it through the flick’s inclusion of heavy, dramatic monologues or adult themes, these roles put child actors in the type of scenes they likely wouldn’t have been allowed to watch if they weren’t involved.

"Kick-Ass" (2010) It's never an easy task combining children with graphic violence in the world of cinema. The 2010 adaptation of Mark Millar’s "Kick-Ass" comic never felt exploitative or cruel when it came to showcasing this violence, but that doesn’t make the casting of Hit Girl any less eyebrow raising. Chloë Grace Moretz, for her part, does a wonderful job in the role, lighting up the screen with intense fight scenes, while simultaneously bringing a healthy dose of dark humor with her pervasive cursing. All that to say, her performance as Hit Girl certainly wasn't kid-friendly, nor was it meant to be: this was mature stuff.

"Paper Moon" (1973) Tatum O'Neal was eight years old when she took on the role of Addie in "Paper Moon" for director Peter Bogdanovich. The daughter of Hollywood icon and co-star Ryan O'Neal had no acting experience, but for her incredible performance, she ended up winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress . This certainly couldn't have been easy for the young O'Neal, however, as "Paper Moon" demanded a whole lot of hard work and dedication to film what was a mature, textured screenplay. "Paper Moon" also featured plenty of adult content, smoking, mild sexual themes and violence, making Tatum's believably charming performance all the more incredible.

#8: Dolores ‘Lolita’ Haze

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"Lolita" (1962; 1997) There's no getting around this one, as the problematic plot of "Lolita" involves a middle-aged man becoming sexually obsessed and involved with a teenage girl. "Lolita" was originally a 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov, and was made into a movie multiple times, but the two we’re focusing on here cast teenagers in the lead. Sue Lyon first raised eyebrows with her performance in a slightly comedic film by Stanley Kubrick in 1962, while Dominique Swain upped the ante with a darker remake in 1997. The role itself demanded a lot from both actresses, as Lolita is intended to be both innocent and seductive, which can make the work more than a little uncomfortable for even the most confident young performer.

#7: The Entire Cast

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"Kids" (1995) "Kids" garnered a lot of controversy upon its release in the mid-90s, as director Larry Clark pulled no punches bringing Harmony Korine's gritty screenplay to the big screen. The film also cast real and unpolished young actors to tell their tale of disaffection, amorality and sexual irresponsibility amongst a group of NYC teenagers. Critics called out Clark for the arguably sexualized gaze he placed upon the young actors. The film itself also never flinches from presenting these characters as deeply flawed, sometimes to the point of being irredeemable. Nevertheless, the cast is the reason why "Kids" is remembered today, for better or worse, as they all delivered performances of a lifetime.

"The Exorcist" (1973) It's the horror movie that frightened a generation, and that made young Linda Blair into a household name. But did "The Exorcist" go too far? Well, some may argue that casting Blair as a demonically possessed girl who masturbates with a crucifix as "crossing the line," and they'd be right. But it's scenes such as this that helped make "The Exorcist" a disturbing horror classic for the ages. It isn't just the possession scenes that showcase Blair’s acting ability, however, as it's her otherwise sweet demeanor that make those sequences so powerful. We're rooting for her all the way, and want to see her safely through to the end.

"Interview with the Vampire" (1994) We're sticking to the horror genre for our next entry, specifically with Kirsten Dunst and her scene stealing performance as Claudia in "Interview with the Vampire." For starters, there's some serious pathos as Claudia deals with her resentment at remaining physically young, while she emotionally yearns for love, sex and companionship. Then, there's the often bloody violence that takes place within the film, some of which occurs directly at Claudia’s hands. It takes a special kind of actress to bring both malevolence and innocence to the screen, and in the role, Dunst delivered both of these big time.

"Taxi Driver" (1976) Jodie Foster has delivered plenty of outstanding performances throughout her distinguished career, but it's her role as Iris in Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" for which history might best remember her. Foster was actually given a psychological test to prepare her for taking on a character who was an underage prostitute; the object of obsession for "Taxi Driver's" damaged antihero, Travis Bickle. Foster was also part of the film's iconic, but gruesomely violent final shootout, yet she never feels out of place or lost amidst all of the heavy events happening around her. She holds her own, and delivers a performance that is mature far beyond her years.

"Hounddog" (2007) The next performance on our list was actually compared to Jodie Foster's work in "Taxi Driver" by none other than esteemed film critic Roger Ebert, but this doesn't change the fact that "Hounddog" was intensely criticized upon its release in 2007. Most of this criticism stems largely from the fact that Dakota Fanning's character of Lewellen suffers a traumatic rape during the film, despite the actress barely being in her teens. Lewellen also suffers from abuse at home, and presents herself in a highly sexualized manner, all of which helped stoked the fires of infamy for "Hounddog," which recovered only a fraction of its $3.5 million budget at the box office.

"Léon: The Professional" (1994) It's nearly impossible to discuss director Luc Besson's film "Léon: The Professional" without talking about Natalie Portman's breakout performance as Mathilda. The young actress was poised, charismatic and calculating as a young orphaned girl who takes up with a contract killer in an attempt to gain revenge upon those who murdered her family. "The Professional" spends a lot of time on the relationship between Léon and Mathilda, with the latter developing romantic feelings for her mentor while he trains her in the arts of assassination. It's the proximity between Portman's character and this world of violence, however, which makes it so tragically compelling, and the actress rightfully deserves credit for making it work. Before we name our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Henry Evans "The Good Son" (1993) Solomon "Gummo" (1997) Tracy Freeland & Evie Zamora "Thirteen" (2003)

"Pretty Baby" (1978) & "The Blue Lagoon” (1980) Brooke Shields began acting as a child, but her roles were notably mature. She started out in a small role in the cult horror flick "Alice Sweet Alice," and came to greater public attention in 1980 with the overtly-sexual "The Blue Lagoon." In between these films, however, she appeared in "Pretty Baby," which spared little in its portrayal of underage prostitution in New Orleans. Shields does an uncomfortable amount of nudity in the film, considering she was only twelve at the time, and the film would definitely not be made today. However, "Pretty Baby" was still a hit with audiences and critics, most of whom stopped short of calling the film pornographic or exploitative.