|
Haley Joel Osment:
Full Name
Haley Joel Osment
(pronounced: Hey-lee)
Date of birth
April 10, 1988
14 years old
Parents
Mother Theresa Osment (school teacher)
Father Michael Eugene Osment (actor)
Siblings
Sister Emily Jordan Osment (actress)
Location
United States of America Los Angeles, California near Glendale
Height
about 5 feet
Eye Color
Blue
Hair Color
Blonde
Education
He attends a public school 8th grade
He wants to attend Yale University in future
Favorite School Subjects
1st choices, Science & Language Arts
2nd choices, History & Math.
Pets
Two aquatic frogs, two geckos, two dogs named tor and nado, and a hamster
Favorite Sports
Organized Basketball, Golf, Baseball, Football, Tennis
Favorite Basketball Player
Kobe Bryant
Favorite Foods
Mostly vegetarian, but likes chicken and fish
Snickers and Strawberry-Sprinkle pop-tart
Favorite Reading Material
Science Fiction
Historic person would he most like to be
George Patton, or Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Favorite Movie
Alien
Favorite Books
The Lord of the Rings series and The Pit and the Pendulum
Favorite Authors
J.R.R. Tolkien and Edgar Allan Poe
People who he'd like to work with
Edward Norton, Anthony Hopkins, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Ron Howard.
Favorite Band & Music
R.E.M. - rock genre
Hobbies
Enjoys horseback riding and likes singing
Taking piano over the summer
Organizations
The Osment's are part of Greenpeace
Emily Jordan Osment:
Not much show buzz had been circulating around little Emily, Haley's younger sister. Aged at 10 years old, she is following her brother's footsteps in show biz since 1999. She first started her acting resume on a film called "The Secret Life of Girls", followed by "Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End"; a TV movie, "Cast and Crew" and various guest roles in TV series such as "3rd Rock From The Sun", "Touched By An Angel" and even "Friends".
Although not being able to share glamour and stardom as much as her elder brother, they team up for the first time in a 3D animated short film called "Edward Fuddwupper Fibbed Big". In it, Emily plays "Fannie", and Haley as "Edward", who is also Fannie's elder brother. Not giving much of it away; in the very first scene, a poor mouse was lured into the open by a hot dog, so that little Fannie can rope it into her tea party. Little Fannie is a cute-as-a-button little girl of about 6, who wants nothing more than her older brother to pay attention to her and join one of her tea parties. And as for Edward, he's quite a wild little boy who has a fondness of fibbing, and later learns lessons about lying and love.
Not to forget, Emily was nominated "Best Young Actress Under 10- TV or Pilot" for the film "Sarah, Plain and Tall: Winter's End" in the "1998-1999 21st Young Artist Awards". It was Brittney Lee Harvey, for the film "Mr. Murder" who was the winner.
So far, Emily has not been involved in big productions until recently. She has recently been cast for the female lead in the sequel to this year's family action hit "Spy Kids," according to reports. Here is the premise of "Spy Kids 2", as sourced from Upcomingmovies.com: "Following the further adventures of Carmen and Juni Cortez, the children of super-spies Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez, this movie sees them challenged by another pair of spy siblings, Gary (O'Leary) and Gerti Giggles (Emily Osment). When the adult spies are taken out of commission (again), the two teams are all that's left to save the world... (Buscemi is a scientist that lives on the island of the title; Montalban and Taylor play Ingrid's parents, former spies themselves)
"Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams" is scheduled for release Summer 2002.
Theresa Osment:
Theresa Osment is the mother of the well known child actor, Haley Joel Osment. After marrying Eugene, who is 4 years her elder, both of them moved from Alabama to L.A. Both of them gave their son a "good old-fashioned Southern upbringing," encouraging him to be well behaved and mature.
Initially, Haley and his younger sister lived on noodles and ketchup while Eugene took theatre jobs. All that changed one day. One day when Theresa bought Haley along to Ikea when he was still 4; where there was a talent scout looking for would-be child actors. By the end of the day, after Theresa had filled out a name card that prompted as much information as a Lotto ticket, the agency called to invite the little tyke for an audition.
"You may get there and you may hate it," Eugene told Theresa, "or you may get there and he may hate it, and perhaps we've answered our questions."
Eugene didn't say that for nothing. The place was mayhem, packed with kids, and the wait was interminable. She hated it. After nearly an hour, Theresa paged Eugene and said she was thinking of leaving.
Stay, urged Eugene. Maybe you'll come next. Thank God for that.
On Haley's most recent work in A.I. Artificial Intelligence, some of the emotional scenes were so wrenching that Theresa had difficulty watching them. Speaking up for mothers when she told reporters she's a bit queasy about the impact of the movie on children. "If (Haley) wasn't in it, I'm not sure I'd let him see it. His little sister's not seeing it. There are some parts I think the parents should see first before they expose it to their children. It's very traumatic... and you need to be responsible."
Eugene Osment:
As a film and theatre actor, Eugene is not only a father to Haley, but also a great coach that guides his son since the beginning of Haley's acting career. He's also a chaperone and manager. Shortly after marrying his spouse; Theresa in the mid-80's, they moved to L.A. and settled a family there.
By helping starting up a theatre company, Eugene finally saved about $1000 to supplement his struggling actor's salary with a courier job. The Osments then bought a starter home and had their first child. And it was through a book that both the parents had come across, "Haley" rang a jingle to them, and it inspired them to name their boy just that.
When Haley was still an infant, Eugene always avoided baby talk with him. "I always treated him older than this age..." he explained "so that he learned just a little quicker than others."
It was not long until Eugene's friends envisaged his little tyke's talents. "I was hit by a number of my friends in the industry who thought that he was quite articulate and would do well in commercials.". It hit right on the nail! With a stroke of luck in aid, a talent scout hunting for would-be child actors spotted Haley, and that hallmarked Haley's exciting career, in years to come.
Eugene studied drama at a college in Georgia and was ready to attempt his master's degree when he was bewildered into Hollywood. "I had a really good first year," he remembers, "but then it stopped". The trouble is that there are too many good-looking men like me around." As time went by, Eugene put his career on halt and became his son's acting coach; imparting him what he'd learnt in his earlier days; the skills of drama tradition, acquitting in interviews and press junkets.
"I have to live the role as thoroughly as Haley does, so I do all the character analysis with him, and carry on working until I figure it out" Eugene continued "Aged 11, there's not a lot to draw on for the heavy emotional scenes. He hasn't had the difficulties that grown-ups have experienced. But if you look hard, you can find small things, like the death of a pet."
No doubt, such intensive study, night after night, might lead to tension between father and son, but Eugene protests that he "drops" the father bit when he's coaching. Haley, who has been listening quietly, jumps in to say that the regime suits him fine.
Next, Eugene explained what was the building foundation that helped in the development of Haley's maturity. "I learnt a lot from a priest who retired to have a family. I remembered visiting him before his first child could even speak, and he would not do baby talk. He said he wanted the kid to have a gift of language, so he was going to start off by talking to him like a regular person. I did the same."
Later, elaborating on Haley's growing interest when he was still younger: "He had a far greater ability to take on character than I had at this age," Eugene said "I would play soldiers and, given the chance to die, I would act it out, but can't remember going to the elaborate lengths he did."
"Death scenes are cool," chipped in Haley.
Aspects of this story are worryingly reminiscent of the Macaulay Culkin disaster. There, too, the father worked with the son and the mother stayed at home with the rest of the children. The result was divorce and a young star whose life appeared to have to be upended. The Osments might be to level-headed to go the same way, but their seriousness of purpose, one can't help pondering, could one day present its own problems.
|
