With over 25 years gone since making his debut, Stuart Little child actor Jonathan Lipnicki is getting brutally honest about his acting hiatus. Just prior to starring in the hit fantasy comedy, Lipnicki had already risen to stardom thanks to his feature acting debut in Jerry Maguire as the son to Renée Zellweger's Dorothy, with many praising the chemistry the young star had with both Zellweger and leading man Tom Cruise. Lipnicki would also go on to appear in episodes of The Jeff Foxworthy Show, Dawson's Creek and the cult favorite adaptation of The Little Vampire.
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Lipnicki starred in the Stuart Little movies as George Little, the human son of Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie's Eleanor and Frederick, who adopt the titular anthropomorphic white mouse in the hopes of giving their son a brother. With both Stuart Little movies scoring largely positive reviews and performing well at the box office, many considered Lipnicki to be a star with potential to be a mainstay in the industry for years. Following his appearances in Like Mike and Stuart Little 2, Lipnicki would gradually begin moving away from acting, and he's now sharing the thought process behind it.
While speaking with SlashFilm to discuss his ongoing sketch show, Jonathan Lipnicki got brutally honest about his acting hiatus. The former Stuart Little child actor expressed the feeling that his break from the industry didn't come from his efforts to focus on high school, but rather that he "wasn't a very good actor at one point." See what Lipnicki shared below:
The biggest transition for me was…I didn’t work for a long time. And people always frame that as, ‘Oh, I went to high school,’ and whatnot. And that’s the story that people tell sometimes when they don’t work. Or if they’re a child actor or whatever, they took time off. I did take time off, in the sense that it wasn’t the only priority I had. But I didn’t work because I just didn’t work. I didn’t really get any roles for a while. I’m honest about that. And it was because [I] wasn’t a very good actor at one point. Because the great thing about being young, a kid, is there’s this nice inherent childlike wonder. And that’s why a lot of kids you see are quite talented. And filters come in, and you become nervous…or the world comes into play. And so for me, I went from just doing the natural thing to trying to be like my favorite actors.
Despite taking a hiatus for a while, Lipnicki has since enjoyed a gradual return to it, appearing in a variety of indie films, including the Danny Trejo-starring action film Bad Asses and making guest appearances on the reality shows Drop the Mic, Celebs Go Dating and Worst Cooks in America. The former Stuart Little star also has expressed his ongoing love for the profession, having even gone and taking acting classes, where he would find his love for the theater. Lipnicki even got the opportunity to be an understudy for Chris Pine fresh off of his first Star Trek movie's success, an experience he's expressed gratitude for getting to have.
While he may not be at the same level of stardom as his childhood years, those who have enjoyed the Stuart Little star are sure to take comfort in hearing his positive feelings on his current status. Additionally, with the star ending his interview with the charming "I just ****ing love acting," one can hope Lipnicki gets the opportunity to do so on the big screen sometime in the future. Until then, audiences can revisit Lipnicki's past with Stuart Little 2 available to stream on Netflix now.