The Secret Lives Of Showbiz Kids

In a new documentary, former child stars reveal what it’s really like to be famous by fifth grade: by turns awesome, awkward and unspeakably tragic

Alex Winter

“THE REJECTION COULD BE DEVASTATING. I’D NEVER LET MY KIDS DO THIS”

When actor and director Winter was 13, he landed his first Broadway role, in the revival of The King and I with Yul Brynner. “It was a dream come true,” says Winter, now 55. “I was a film obsessive from the moment I could watch anything.” The New Jersey-raised star would go on to roles in teen films like The Lost Boys and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure before shifting to directing. In 2018 Winter spoke out for the first time about being sexually abused as a child star. During his time as a Broadway performer, he was molested by an older actor – a traumatic experience that “caused me a lot of problems as I got older”, he says.

Now behind the camera, Winter reveals what it’s really like to be a young star in his new HBO documentary Showbiz Kids, talking to a range of Hollywood figures who found fame early on. “I didn’t just want to show one person’s story, some salacious rise and fall,” he says. “I think that’s the story most people are used to.” Actors such as Evan Rachel Wood open up about facing the pressure to be perfect, constant rejection and difficulty with emotional growth. “We haven’t had normal childhood development,” says Winter. “And that’s got to happen at some point in your life. So child actors have to play catch-up with that later.”