You know the face. It’s that wide-eyed kid from The Sixth Sense whispering about seeing dead people. For a long time, that was the only way people thought of him. But if you’ve been paying attention lately, Haley Joel Osment has basically pulled off one of the quietest, coolest career pivots in Hollywood history. He didn't disappear. He just grew up and decided to get weird with it.
Honestly, the transition from "the kid who made everyone cry" to "the guy who shows up in your favorite cult comedy" is a trip.
The Early Years: More Than Just a Ghost Story
Most people forget his debut wasn't even a movie. It was a Pizza Hut commercial. He was four. By the time he was six, he was playing Tom Hanks' son in Forrest Gump. Talk about starting at the top.
Throughout the mid-90s, he was everywhere on TV. He was a series regular on Thunder Alley and The Jeff Foxworthy Show. He even did a stint on Murphy Brown as Avery. He was the go-to "cute kid with depth," but nobody was ready for 1999.
The Sixth Sense and the Oscar Race
When The Sixth Sense dropped, it changed everything. It wasn't just a horror movie; it was a cultural earthquake. Osment’s performance as Cole Sear earned him an Academy Award nomination at age 11. He lost to Michael Caine (who later became his co-star in Secondhand Lions), but the impact was permanent.
📖 Related: Howie Mandel Cupcake Picture: What Really Happened With That Viral Post
Then came Pay It Forward (2000) and Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). In A.I., he played David, a robotic boy who just wanted to be real. It’s a haunting, difficult performance that critics like Roger Ebert absolutely raved about. At that point, he was the most famous child actor on the planet.
The "Missing" Years (That Weren't Actually Missing)
There’s this weird myth that he stopped working. That’s not true. He just went to school. Specifically, he moved to New York to study at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
During that "gap," he actually became a legend in a completely different world: gaming. Since 2002, he has been the voice of Sora in the Kingdom Hearts franchise. If you’re a gamer, you’ve heard his voice for over two decades. He also voiced Vanitas, showing off a much darker, villainous range that most mainstream film fans never got to see.
The Pivot: Becoming a Character Actor
When he came back to live-action full-time, he didn't try to be a traditional leading man. He leaned into the strange.
👉 See also: Austin & Ally Maddie Ziegler Episode: What Really Happened in Homework & Hidden Talents
Take Kevin Smith’s Tusk (2014). He plays a podcast host looking for his missing friend who... well, let's just say things get walrus-y. It was a signal to the industry: "I'm down for anything."
Since then, the list of Haley Joel Osment movies and TV shows has become a "who’s who" of prestige comedy and gritty drama:
- Silicon Valley: He played Keenan Feldspar, a VR prodigy who was basically a human golden retriever.
- The Boys: He had a tragic, messy turn as Mesmer, a washed-up supe who can read minds.
- What We Do in the Shadows: His guest spot as Topher the familiar (who comes back as a very annoying zombie) is a fan favorite.
- The Kominsky Method: He played Robby, showing he could go toe-to-toe with legends like Michael Douglas.
Recent Hits: 2024 and 2025
If you think he's slowing down in 2026, you haven't seen his recent credits. 2024 was a massive year for him. He appeared in Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut Blink Twice, playing Tom, a former child star (meta, right?). It’s a dark, psychological thriller that proved he still has those high-stakes acting chops.
He also stayed busy with:
✨ Don't miss: Kiss My Eyes and Lay Me to Sleep: The Dark Folklore of a Viral Lullaby
- Drugstore June (2024): A quirky indie comedy.
- Batman: Caped Crusader (2024): Lending his voice to the animated DC universe.
- Sausage Party: Foodtopia (2025): Continuing his streak of R-rated comedy voice work.
- Long Lonesome Highway (2025): A project about the life of Michael Parks.
It’s a wild filmography. He’s gone from Spielberg sets to voicing "Garbage" the dog in Dogs in Space.
Why He Still Matters
The reason he’s still around isn't just nostalgia. It’s because he’s actually good. A lot of child stars struggle because they can't shed their "kid" persona. Osment did it by embracing the fact that he looks different and acts different now. He’s a character actor with the technical precision of a veteran who’s been on sets for 30 years.
He’s also incredibly humble about the "dead people" thing. He knows it’s his legacy, but he doesn't let it trap him. Whether he’s doing a JD Vance impression that goes viral or appearing in a weird Netflix sketch, he seems like he's actually having fun.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans
If you want to catch up on his best work beyond the classics, start with these specific projects to see his range:
- For the "Dark" Side: Watch The Boys (Season 2, Episode 6). It’s uncomfortable and brilliant.
- For the "Funny" Side: Check out his guest spots on What We Do in the Shadows or Silicon Valley.
- For the "Voice" Mastery: Dive into Kingdom Hearts or Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie, where he plays Casey Jones.
- For the "New" Era: Watch Blink Twice. It’s probably his most "grown-up" major film role to date.
Track his upcoming 2026 projects like the TV series The 'Burbs, which is expected to showcase more of that comedic timing he's perfected over the last decade.