by Mary Clark

Created on: January 18, 2009

What makes a teen actor famous is their ability to retain a successful career after they have matured.

When we think of teen stars, the first one that comes to mind is the infamous James Dean. His seductive charm and devil-may-care, rebellious nature forever branded an insignia on our impression of what it means to be a teen star. While we never had the opportunity to watch his career develop, performances like his portrayal of Jimmy Stark in the movie Rebel Without a Cause defined the term "teen idol" that we use today. Every new generation of Hollywood hopefuls produces a group of teen stars each vying to be as famous today and as well remembered tomorrow as James Dean is.

In the 1960's we had Kurt Russell, Jan Michael Vincent, and Luke Halpin.

Luke known for his role as the tan and gorgeous Sandy Ricks from the popular television show Flipper has not seen a great deal of success in his adult career. He has landed a few roles in B rated movies and had a few episodic appearances on television but he did not experience any semblance of real success as a leading man in Hollywood after coming of age.

Jan Michael Vincent, another teenage heartthrob from the sixties maintained a reasonably successful career as an adult with the hit television series, Airwolf. Vincent also landed a few roles in the movies that had moderate box office success. However, he too failed to make his success as an adult star stick.

Kurt Russell on the other hand emerged from his teen star stigma and forged a successful career as an adult actor. Russell was able to break out of his teen star status and show real versatility in his acting career. When you think of Kurt, you think of Snake Pissken from his hit Escape from New York; you laugh at the antics of Dean Proffitt, Kurt's role in the movie, Overboard. You emotionally connect with firefighter Stephen "Bull" McCaffrey from the hit movie, Backdraft. In 2003, Russell received a lifetime career award for his roles in fantasy, science fiction, and horror films. In addition, Kurt's performances gained him several nominations for the Golden Globe and Emmy awards.

The 1970's and 1980's gave us a myriad of teen stars. Some remain household names today; others have us asking where are they now. Family Ties gave us Michael J. Fox. Ferris Beuller brought Matthew Broderick to the big screen; Saturday Night Fever made Travolta a household name. Jump Street launched Johnny Depp to overnight success. The cast of the movie The Outsiders all went on to blossoming

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>