14 Child Actors Who Did One Movie And Ended Their Career

While some child actors go on to have long careers in Hollywood, it's not uncommon for a young star to decide against pursuing acting when they've had a chance to grow up and become their own person. There's a bit of a stigma when it comes to child stars coping after experiencing fame early on, with a fair amount of them going off the rails upon reaching adulthood, but many have gone on to be successful away from the screen, even becoming super rich in some cases. That's certainly true of some of the child actors on this list, but what sets these people apart from the rest of the pack is that they only ever appeared in a single movie before retiring from acting for good.

Whether they embraced an entirely different career or took on one that's entertainment adjacent, every one of these child actors gave it their best in one role and then turned their back on the profession that made them famous.

Joey Gaydos Jr. joined the cast of "School of Rock" with several years of guitar experience under his belt, having grown up around the instrument: His dad was a guitarist who was well known on the Detroit rock scene. "My father played with the who's who of Detroit rock royalty throughout the years," Gaydos told M Live. "I remember a home video of myself [leaning] against the baby gate downstairs, listening to my dad play and just bobbing my head, getting into the music. I always loved it."

He was gifted his own guitar at age nine and was starring in "School or Rock" three years later, but landing the role of Zack "Zack-Attack" Mooneyham wasn't easy. According to Gaydos, it was a lengthy process. "I remember when I finally got the call after my third Los Angeles call back for the movie, when I met Jack Black, that we got a call from the casting agency saying, 'Alright, pack your bags, you're going to New York for five months.' Obviously, I was overjoyed," he recalled.

Gaydos was offered more movie roles after "School of Rock" but he turned them down to pursue music. He taught guitar at Ann Arbor Music Center and he's played in several bands over the years, touring with Uncle Kracker at one stage. Sadly, he's been on the wrong side of the law on a couple of occasions, including for DUI and for shoplifting — he was arrested for stealing (what else?) guitars in 2019.

Robert Tsai is great as keyboard player Lawrence (aka Mr. Cool) in "School of Rock," but, despite his hilariously dry and touching performance, it remains his only acting credit. You'll understand why he didn't go on to have a career in Hollywood when you find out why he was so convincing as Lawrence — all that insecurity was actually real. According to reports, Tsai actually tried to drop out of the film after landing the role because he didn't feel like he was hip enough.

Per the Express, director Richard Linklater had to sit Tsai down for a candid chat and explain to him that his reluctance was actually perfect for the character. In fact, following this conversation, the filmmaker tweaked the script, making Lawrence even more timid: In the film, Lawrence demands to be removed from the band, saying, "People in bands are cool; I am not cool." Black's teacher character convinces him otherwise and he goes on to be vital part of the band.

After he finished his work on the critically acclaimed box office hit, Tsai turned his focus to his education, eventually attending the prestigious Ivy League university Dartmouth College. However, he didn't leave music behind — in fact, he actually played piano in official Dartmouth concerts while a student there. Not much is known about what he's up to these days.

The works of Roald Dahl often make for excellent movies. "The Witches" has been adapted into a feature film twice: The first came in 1990, starring Anjelica Huston as the film's big bad. It follows a young boy named Luke (Jasen Fisher) who is transformed into a mouse by the evil Grand High Witch (Huston). He fights to defeat the witches and regain his humanity. Along the way, he meets Bruno (Charlie Potter), another child who's turned into a mouse. Bruno is a bit oblivious to everything that's happening to him, and he's a fun element of the story.

Potter only ever appeared in "The Witches." He completed school and went on to become a barrister, practicing administrative, public, and commercial law for Blackstone Chambers in London. He later became a senior corporate communications adviser and partner at Brunswick Group, which is "the world's leading critical issues firm," according to its website. His focus was on broadcasting and media regulation. Potter now works as a co-lead for the firm's global litigation practice, so he went from playing a kid who was turned into a mouse to an attorney at a big firm in London.

"Matilda" star Mara Wilson went on act sporadically after playing the titular girl in the 1996 film, though the actor who featured as the 4-year-old version of her character never appeared in another movie. Sara Magdalin's younger Matilda takes care of herself by making breakfast, walking to the library, and checking out books, showing how independent and intelligent the character was before Wilson took over for the rest of the film.

These days, Magdalin is "a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) based in Los Angeles," according to her website. "I am passionate about all things women's health and wellness. My number one goal for my clients is that they can make confident food choices, feel healthy and happy in their bodies, and improve their relationship to food and their body." She has a Master's of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from California State University, Northridge, which led to her working as a dietician for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and then at UCLA Health, and, finally, Nutrition Masters LLC, where she's been since 2021.

2004's "Finding Neverland" follows Sir James Matthew Barrie, played by Johnny Depp, as he interacts with the family that inspired him to create "Peter Pan." In the film, Luke Spill plays Michael Llewelyn Davies, one of the Llewelyn Davies children who informed the Darling children in the "Peter Pan" stories. Spill did an excellent job playing Michael in what turned out to be his only ever role.

Instead of pursuing acting, Spill attended University College London, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics. After graduating in 2018, he worked for HeadBox as a business development executive. He went on to work for Universal Media Group and then Virgin Music UK, where he was an Artist Campaign Manager for a little over a year. Spill's time with Virgin Music UK came to an end in January 2024, and (per his Linkedin), he's currently "Seeking work in M&A advisory across Media, Entertainment and Technology."

If you're only going to appear in a single film, you can do a lot worse than a movie from the Coen brothers. Aaron Wolff was 15 when he played Jewish teen Danny Gopnik in Joel and Ethan Coen's "A Serious Man." In the film, Danny is under the influence during his bar mitzvah, but manages to get through it. The role was distinctive, and Wolff could have parlayed it into a promising career in acting, but his real love is music.

The one-time actor is an accomplished cellist who the Chicago Tribune described as "a musician of quicksilver brilliance." He received a bachelor of arts degree in comparative literature and a bachelor of music in cello performance from the Oberlin College & Observatory in Ohio. After that, he earned a master's degree from Juilliard. And, as if that wasn't impressive enough, Wolff is continuing his education as he pursues his Doctorate of Musical Arts at CUNY The Graduate Center in New York. He's also received numerous awards for his musical performances and has traveled the world playing the cello.

Have you ever wondered why the actor who played Charlie in "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" never acted again? There were plenty of doors open to Peter Ostrum after he starred in the beloved classic. The creators of "Willy Wonka" actually offered him a three-picture deal when he was still only 13, but he wasn't interested. Speaking to NPR in 2021, he said that committing to making a bunch of movies without knowing what they were unnerved him. "I didn't like giving up that freedom of signing on the dotted line, not knowing what I was going to be asked to do," Ostrum said.

The child star went on to work with animals after being inspired by a vet who came out to treat his family's horse. "It made a huge impression on me," Ostrum, who is now a vet himself, told the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2000. "Someone making a living from something he enjoyed so much really sparked my interest." He's glad that he left Hollywood behind after just one movie, but he doesn't regret "Willy Wonka." When Gene Wilder passed away in 2016, Ostrum spoke to Variety about working with him on the hit film. He said: "To have made one film and to be associated with Jack [Albertson, who played his grandfather] and Gene, I feel like I really found the golden ticket."

Rishi Bhat played the role of Patrick in 1995's "The Indian in the Cupboard" in his one and only film appearance. He was open to more roles after that, but only if they struck a chord with him. He was too busy getting into software development to waste time with auditions. "He is so taken by technology that he did not give much attention to continue acting," he father explained (via Rediff). "He enjoyed working in his first film but he also said he would act only if he got an as interesting part as in the first film."

Favoring tech over acting would prove to be a wise move: Bhat developed some internet privacy software with a friend that caught the eye of a software company. Just a few months after creating it, Bhat sold his software, SiegeSoft.com, for over a million dollars. He was just 15 at the time. According to his father, he didn't actually take the money up front, instead agreeing to $40,000 in cash and 1.5 million shares of the purchasing company, Rocca Resources. The value of the company's shares rocketed after Bhat went on "Good Morning America" to talk about his software and his remarkable story.

Ian Weighill starred in the 1971 Disney film "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" as Charlie, the oldest of the three children featured in the movie alongside Angela Lansbury's Miss Price and David Tomlinson's Professor Browne. He triumphed over hundreds of hopeful child actors to win the role after impressing Disney scouts in London. Before he knew it he was being flown out to Hollywood. "The food was posh," he told the Press and Sun-Bulletin in 1972. "I liked the steaks and the weather, except when it got too hot. Then I wished I was back in England."

England is reportedly where Weighill resides these days. "He is believed to be a train driver for South West Trains," The Sun reports. Not much else is known about his life these days, but he'll always be remembered for his one and only movie. As Angela Lansbury said when the cast reunited for the first time in 45 years in 2016, it's a much-loved classic. "This film is enjoyed by children in Britain, the United Stated and all over the world," she said (via the Mirror). "For that reason, I am honoured to celebrate this with you all today. You look great!"

Roy Snart was one of the three children who acted in the film "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," and, like co-star Ian Weighill, he did the one film and ended his acting career. Snart played Paul, the youngest of the three children. The former actor, who was born in the London suburb of Middlesex, was enrolled in classes at a drama and modeling agency at age three by his mother and soon began booking commercials. He hit the big time when he was five, impressing casting directors for "Bedknobs and Broomsticks."

Snart went on to work in recruitment. "I entered the recruitment world back in 1985 and took my first management post in a new start-up company in 1986," he states on his Linkedin profile. He was head of First Choice Software, an IT company that makes and manages recruitment software in the United Kingdom, for over two decades, with the business being sold in 2017. He's semi-retired these days, though he still remains involved in a number of business ventures: He's a director at both Ethero Strategic Staffing and Datatech Analytics.

Zachary Mabry played Porky in 1994's "The Little Rascals," his one and only role. Most of the kids in the film continued their careers in the arts, but Mabry had other plans. Granted, he was only four at the time, so he had a lot of growing to do before settling on a career. He opted to study accounting, earning a master's degree in the subject from the University of Oklahoma in 2013.

On top of working as a CPA, Mabry was a contributing editor for "The Catholic Herald" for over four years. He's also known for his work as a co-host on "The Roman Circus Podcast," which focuses on the traditions and history of Catholicism. These days, he runs his own accounting firm, ZacMabry Advisory, and works as a CPA. He also has a Cameo account, where fans can get a personalized video from the grown-up Porky.

1968's "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" is a family classic, but the musical wasn't a big break for the young actor who played Jemima. Heather Ripley. hasn't appeared in another movie since, nor has she popped up on TV. When you hear about the impact that starring in the film had on Ripley, you'll understand why. Speaking to the Scottish Sun about the experience, she said: "It's 14 months of my childhood which will never be replaced. My mother and father broke up, which I've always blamed on the film. I honestly don't have fond memories of it, and because that's clouded my view of it I haven't quite understood why so many people love it so much."

Ripley quickly discovered that she didn't enjoy being famous. The film thrust her into the limelight — she even presented Queen Elizabeth II with some flowers at the London premiere of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" — and it all became too much. She went on to become a photographer and videographer as well as a passionate activist. Ripley flew to Greece to help with the refugee crisis caused by the Syrian civil war in 2016, and she has been described as "an eco-warrior, peace campaigner and anti-roads protester" by the Daily Mail, which noted that the former actor has even been arrested during protests.

1998's "Simon Birch" tells the story of a young boy whose growth is stunted by dwarfism. He comes to believe that God has a great purpose for him, and by the film's end, he's proven correct. The movie is sad and uplifting at the same time, and that's largely thanks to its lead, Ian Michael Smith, who was 11 when he played the titular character. It wasn't actually the first role that he auditioned for: The youngster tried out for 1998's "The Mighty," which was originally supposed to star a dwarf actor (Smith has Morquito's syndrome, a form of dwarfism).

He didn't get the role, but the audition helped Smith land the part of Simon Birch. "It was the same casting director for both movies," he told Roger Ebert. "They said they'd shown the producers my tape and they liked it: 'You wanna try out for another movie?' Which was surprising, because earlier I had thought it was cool but it would never happen again." It turned out to be his only role, with Smith concentrating on his education following "Simon Birch." He graduated from high school and then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, majoring in electrical engineering and computer science.

The critically acclaimed 1963 film adaptation of "The Lord of the Flies" features an ensemble cast that includes Hugh Edwards as Piggy. In the film, Piggy is bullied relentlessly, and he meets an unfortunate and violent end. Edwards landed the role after sending a letter to director Peter Brook. In it, he wrote: "Dear Sir, I am fat and wear spectacles." He also included a photograph, and upon seeing it, Brook thought (via The New York Times), "It was Piggy, come to life."

Not long after receiving the letter, Brook cast Edwards in the role, one of the most important in the film. The scenes involving Piggy were praised by The Observer in a review of the film published in 1964. "The sort of comfort he dispenses is both comic and moving," it read. When the shoot ended, Edwards didn't pursue acting as a profession. Instead, he made a living managing pet food factories.