I’m currently reading beyond the wand by Tom Felton and I’m glad my mom died by Jennette McCurdy. Both of these books are really interesting and in reading them at the same time and going back-and-forth between the two the difference between their experiences as child actors (especially their moms) is so stark!
I’m wondering if anybody else has read both of these and what your thoughts are on the similarities and differences between child stardom with Warner Bros. in Harry Potter versus Nickelodeon. As well as the ways that the guiding parents and families supported versus didn’t support?
by flowercrownrugged
11 Comments
For a Canadian angle, add “Run Towards the Danger”
I haven’t read those, but another interesting book about that is The Boys, about Ron Howard and his brother’s experiences as child actors. This one is positive about how their parents handled it.
I’ve read both and definitely have some thoughts!
I think the biggest difference between their two stories was definitely how each family related to money. The Felton family, from what I recall, had both parents working. While Tom I’m sure made a good bit of money from being Draco Malfoy, it didn’t seem like he was made to be responsible for the family’s finances. Jennette on the other hand essentially bankrolled her family. Her mom stopped working to become Jennette’s manager and her family was already poor, so there was a lot riding on Jennette’s success and that definitely contributed to how hard her mother pushed her to act and sing even when she didn’t want to.
I also think the Harry Potter set was a much more balanced environment in the fact that Nickelodeon shows pretty much exclusively star young actors in their first major roles. They have no star power and limited or no experience in standing up to mistreatment. And while the Harry Potter child actors were just getting their footing in the industry, there were a lot of well-established adult actors on the set who served as mentors and role models for the younger actors. And while I don’t remember Tom mentioning anything about mistreatment on set, I definitely think those older actors would have been in a good position to advocate for the child stars in a way that I feel couldn’t happen in the Nickelodeon environment where there’s not a lot of adults on set who have any power without the threat of losing their own jobs.
I haven’t read Beyond the Wand (didnt realize Tom Felton had a book, but do now!) But I have listened to I’m Glad My Mom Died, and it was absolutely heartbreaking to hear what Jennette went through.
I read these two back to back and thought the same thing. I also wondered if city culture made a difference- LA vs London
I’ve read (listened) to them both. The parents definitely play a critical role, but I still wouldn’t let my kid near show business. If she wants to pursue a career in entertainment, it will have to be after she turns 18. Kids should be kids, not employees.
This may be down-voted, but I think a lot of how child actors get treated depends on how strong the social safety net is in the country/society the child actors reside in. Harry Potter was a mostly UK production, where (at least at the time) the social safety net in the UK was pretty strong. When the social safety net is strong, even if a kid in the UK wasn’t from a wealthy family, his family could tell producers, directors, etc. to pound sand and be relatively okay. The family of the child actor(s) didn’t have to rely on the kid to get them out of poverty in the UK. There are also significantly stronger labor protections in the UK (at least for now), particularly around child actors.
For Jeannete McCurdy, the only chance her family had of getting of poverty was through her stardom. You see this story repeated in the United States with sports stars, child actors, child beauty pageant contestants and just generally “stars” of all stripes in the country. If you’re desperately poor in the US, the best you can hope for is to either hit the lottery or have one of your kids be wildly successful. I’ve seen this toxicity leak its way down youth sports, I used to referee youth soccer games as a “fun” way to make some extra money, but after someone pulled on a gun on me for calling their 10 year old offside and the organization I worked for did nothing, I decided the job wasn’t for me. So long as a valid pathway to a comfortable life is for your kids to be insanely successful, we will continue to see these sorts of stories.
I do know that for Harry Potter, the parents were auditioned as much as the children. They did not want another situation where the child grew up and sued the family for blowing through their earnings. And bluntly, I think the rules for child actors are more focused on protecting the children in the UK than they are in the US.
I only read Jeanette’s. But I sure as heck HOPE Tom’s mom wasn’t as bad! Jeanette was glad her mom died. I’m glad that horrible person is dead, too. How bad of an abuser do you have to be for that to make sense?! I think a lot of stage parents are weird or greedy. But Jeanette’s mom would have killed her through an eating disorder. She was really an extreme case.
I’m only 75% done with Tom Felton’s book but here are my thoughts on it.
I think a lot of people have stated the differences in why their experiences are different. For Tom in his childhood this was at best something that just happened to him, and because he wasn’t a huge lead in the film, he was able to live a relatively normal life. (He speaks about how his experience with fame is nowhere close to what Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson were like)
Jenette McCurdy however, while not JUST the breadwinner of her family at a young age, was a major lead in iCarly.
Mara Wilson’s book “Where am I now?” is probably closer to Tom Felton’s experience but as a US actor. Her parents if I recall correctly were very supportive and actually didn’t want her to do more films, and when she realized acting wasn’t for her she stopped. The most acting I’ve seen her do these days is the voice of The Woman with no Face who Secretly lives in your Home for the podcast Welcome to NightVale (She’s also narrated the audio book for it!)
EDIT: 80% done with Tom Felton’s book. It sounds like he did have his own demons, but not in the same intensity as one would think.
I read ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’ about a month ago and am now reading ‘Beyond the Wand’ (about 80% trough) and… I really don’t like a lot of what I see in Tom’s memories. While Janett describes everything with brutal honesty, I get the impression, Tom is trying to sugarcoat many things. He writes with affection to all people in his life but clearly not everyone deserves it. He’s brothers he describes as strong, life teaching personalities, but I see everywhere neglect and low key verbal abuse. I have a 6 years older brother and he never treated me like this! Never called me vermin or laughed at. If he had the job to care for me, he simply did.
Tom’s parents divorced, his father was more or less absent. His mother seems to have made a good job. Not pressuring him, but traveling with him if it was necessary, just giving him space. But even the adult actors. Who says “don’t step on my fucking cloak” to people if the director tells them to gather nearer!? Why didn’t people like Gary Oldman just introduce themselves on the first day? Wasn’t he remotely interested in other actors? Who smokes with children behind the stage? Whenever Tom describes someone as a bit eccentric, I really see a douche bag in this book! He really seems to try to cover it up, but despite his efforts they just don’t seem as nice people as he wants them to see.
Janett’s mother was a full blown malignant narcissist. People Tom describes seem more or less healthy, but just not as good/nice/friendly/helpful as he tries to paint them.