‘Child Star’ Documentary Trailer Showcases the Joys and Toll of Young Celebrity: “It Came at a Price”
“I wouldn’t end up where I am had I not made all the choices leading up to this point. But it came at a price,” Demi Lovato says at the end of the new trailer for Child Star.
At a time when documentaries like Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, Showbiz Kids and Gary are supercharging the conversation around child stardom, the upcoming Hulu documentary examines the impact that celebrity had on some of recent history’s most recognizable names. Those include, as the trailer released Thursday demonstrated, Raven-Symoné, Drew Barrymore, JoJo Siwa, Kenan Thompson, Christina Ricci and Alyson Stoner — as well as, of course, Lovato herself.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
The promotional spot shows subjects reflecting on growing up in an industry context. “The first time I was in front of a professional camera, I was 16 months olds,” the former That’s So Raven star Symoné tells Lovato in the trailer. “That’s just how I grew up,” adds Barrymore, who was raised in an industry family but whose career broke out with her role in 1982’s E.T.
The film overviews some of the subjects’ joyful coming-of-age experiences while also touching on the hazards of having such a public-facing, pressure-filled, lucrative career as a young person. Thompson says his his first accountant “ran away with” his most significant earnings, while Barrymore recalls being given substances at age 10.
The film, which Lovato co-helmed with Nicola Marsh (The 12th Victim), is Lovato’s directorial debut. In a recent Hollywood Reporter cover story, Lovato expressed that she felt she needed to investigate the early part of her career in order to enter a new stage in her life. “I need to figure out why I entered this industry in the first place,” she said. In the story Lovato also shared how she was shocked by the number of former child stars who said “no” to participating in Child Star, while her co-director Marsh was impressed by the transparency of those who did, like Ricci and Thompson.
Child Star premieres on Hulu on September 17. See the trailer for the film below.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
Sign up for Hollywoodreporter's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.