In the early 1990s, the world fell in love with the adorable Mara Wilson, the child actor known for playing the precocious little girl in family classics like Mrs. Doubtfire and Miracle on 34th Street.
The young star, who turned 37 on July 24, seemed poised for success but as she grew older, she stopped being “cute” and disappeared from the big screen.
“Hollywood was burned out on me,” she says, adding that “if you’re not cute anymore, if you’re not beautiful, then you are worthless.
In 1993, five-year-old Mara Wilson stole the hearts of millions of fans when she starred as Robin Williams’ youngest child in Mrs. Doubtfire.
The California-born star had previously appeared in commercials when she received the invitation to star in one of the biggest-grossing comedies in Hollywood history.
“My parents were proud, but they kept me grounded. If I ever said something like, ‘I’m the greatest!’ my mother would remind me, ‘You’re just an actor. You’re just a kid,’” Wilson, now 37, said.
After her big screen debut, she won the role of Susan Walker – the same role played by Natalie Wood in 1947 – in 1994’s Miracle on 34th Street.
In an essay for the Guardian, Wilson writes of her audition, “I read my lines for the production team and told them I didn’t believe in Santa Claus.” Referencing the Oscar-winning actor who played her mom in Mrs. Doubtfire, she continues, “but I did believe in the tooth fairy and had named mine after Sally Field.”
‘Most unhappy’
Next, Wilson played the magical girl in 1996’s Matilda, starring alongside Danny DeVito and his real-life wife Rhea Perlman.
It was also the same year her mother, Suzie, lost her battle with breast cancer.
“I didn’t really know who I was…There was who I was before that, and who I was after that. She was like this omnipresent thing in my life,” Wilson says of the deep grief she experienced after losing her mother. She adds, “I found it kind of overwhelming. Most of the time, I just wanted to be a normal kid, especially after my mother died.”
The young girl was exhausted and when she was “very famous,” she says she “was the most unhappy.”
When she was 11, she begrudgingly played her last major role in the 2000 fantasy adventure film Thomas and the Magic Railroad. “The characters were too young. At 11, I had a visceral reaction to [the] script…Ugh, I thought. How cute,” she tells the Guardian.
‘Burned out’
But her exit from Hollywood wasn’t only her decision.
As a young teenager, the roles weren’t coming in for Wilson, who was going through puberty and outgrowing the “cute.”
She was “just another weird, nerdy, loud girl with bad teeth and bad hair, whose bra strap was always showing.”
“At 13, no one had called me cute or mentioned the way I looked in years, at least not in a positive way,” she says.
Wilson was forced to deal with the pressures of fame and the challenges of transitioning to adulthood in the public eye. Her changing image had a profound effect on her.
“I had this Hollywood idea that if you’re not cute anymore, if you’re not beautiful, then you are worthless. Because I directly tied that to the demise of my career. Even though I was sort of burned out on it, and Hollywood was burned out on me, it still doesn’t feel good to be rejected.”
Mara as the writer
Wilson, now a writer, authored her first book “Where Am I Now? True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame,” in 2016.
The book discusses “everything from what she learned about sex on the set of Melrose Place, to discovering in adolescence that she was no longer ‘cute’ enough for Hollywood, these essays chart her journey from accidental fame to relative (but happy) obscurity.”
She also wrote “Good Girls Don’t” a memoir that examines her life as a child actor living up to expectations.
“Being cute just made me miserable,” she writes in her essay for the Guardian. “I had always thought it would be me giving up acting, not the other way around.”
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THE MAJORITY OF VIEWERS DON’T REMEMBER THIS ACTOR, BUT HIS FANS STILL ADORE HIM
Despite portraying numerous well-known roles, a significant portion of the population remains unfamiliar with him.
Vincent D’Onofrio, an underdog in the entertainment industry, has contributed significantly to the field over an extensive career. Born in 1959, Vincent’s interest in theater blossomed in the 1970s, leading him to actively seek opportunities in local theaters.
Transitioning from behind the scenes after high school, he immersed himself in New York University’s student theater productions, establishing a foundation for his future in the industry.
During his early years, Vincent worked as a bouncer at the Hard Rock Café and even served as a part-time bodyguard for Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin. However, his breakthrough came in 1987 with the role of Pvt.
Leonard Lawrence in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. Notably, he gained 70 pounds to convincingly portray the character.
In 1992, D’Onofrio featured in Robert Altman’s film The Player as a jaded screenwriter critical of the declining originality in Hollywood scripts. The 1995 film Strange Days showcased him as Burton Steckler, a police officer pursuing a crucial video evidence disc.
His villainous role in the 1997 film Men in Black alongside Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones further showcased his versatility.
In 2001, D’Onofrio began his stint as Detective Robert Goren in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, appearing in 141 episodes. He also had a supporting role in the television series Sherlock.
Over the years, he made guest appearances in various shows, displaying his ability to seamlessly transform into diverse characters.
In 2015, he portrayed Vic Hoskins in Jurassic World, adding another impressive credit to his name. Despite his substantial contributions, Vincent D’Onofrio remains underappreciated, and many believe he deserves more recognition.
For those unfamiliar with his work, Vincent D’Onofrio has been a consistent source of entertainment for years. Share this information with friends, and perhaps one day, Vincent will achieve the widespread recognition he truly deserves.
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