10 Actors Who Broke The "Child Actor" Curse

3. Justin Timberlake

Getting free of the grimy, fat hands of music mogul Lou Pearlman was no easy feat for anyone in N'Sync or The Backstreet Boys. The record producer, who died in prison after running one of the largest Ponzi schemes this side of Bernie Madoff, was also allegedly a notorious pedophile. Rich Cronin, former lead singer of LFO, claimed he was not only screwed out of a large sum of money owed to him, but that Pearlman "wanted to bang everyone."

So if anyone is to blame for the popularity of boy bands, it's a man who liked boys. Boy bands were huge in the late 90s/early 2000s, with members representing stereotypes that young girls could idolize at their choosing. And they were as blunt as Pearlman - N'Sync's chubby guy's last name is literally "Fat One".

But Timberlake lucked out. Already having a history with stardom on Disney's All New Mickey Mouse Club alongside sometimes burnout Britney Spears, he seemed to have a preternatural understanding of navigating the waters of fame.

After The Backstreet Boys, Timberlake took his show solo, to great success, and then parlaying that into a successful acting career and memorable hosting gigs on SNL. He's still a major star, and it's doubtful he'll ever fall into the grubby claws of the likes of Pearlman anytime in the future.