10 Actors Who Broke The "Child Actor" Curse

Leonardo DiCaprio can best be described as the still-alive River Phoenix. He brings the same sort of talent, charisma and gravitas Phoenix did in the few roles he had before his overdose. Watch Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade; Phoenix nails a young Harrison Ford impression, and you can sort of imagine DiCaprio pulling off the same kind of detail.

But no one would have noticed that kid from Growing Pains would wind up to be a multi-talented, Oscar-winning actor. He was just the cute kid. Even when he started being taken seriously, in roles in Romeo and Juliet and Titanic, he was seen less of an actor and more a heartthrob. It wasn't until around the time Martin Scorsese found a new muse in the actor that critics and audiences truly looked past his looks.

And it's well deserved.