Haley Joel Osment: What happened to the boy who saw dead people?

Haley Joel Osment made himself known to the world when he was just 11 years old, starring alongside Bruce Willis in 'The Sixth Sense' directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Thanks to his remarkable performance and his iconic phrase: "I see dead people," his name was forever etched in the collective memory of every film buff. But where is he now?

'The Sixth Sense' wasn't his first foray into the world of acting. Osment had already appeared in a Pizza Hut commercial, debuted on ABC's 'Thunder Alley,' and had a small role in 'Forrest Gump' in 1994. Who was he in the movie? None other than Forrest and Jenny's son, Forrest Gump Jr.

After appearing that same year, 1994, in the movie 'Mixed Nuts,' throughout the 90s, he had numerous regular and recurring roles in series such as 'The Jeff Foxworthy Show' or the final season of 'Murphy Brown,' among others, and in the movie 'Bogus.' These were the baby steps leading up to the biggest moment of his career...

It was in 1999 that jaw-dropping success and fame came with 'The Sixth Sense.' Thanks to the role of Cole Sear, a psychic child who could see dead people, the actor won the Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor and was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for best supporting actor.

That Oscar nomination was quite a milestone. Osment became the second-youngest performer to receive an Academy Award nomination for a supporting role. He had clearly ascended to the pinnacle of Hollywood, but what has become of him since then?

Osment has never stopped acting, but his career never reached the same heights as it did when he was a child actor. Although he has had some other prominent roles as a man, most of his works have flown under the radar.

In 2000, he starred in 'Pay it Forward,' alongside Helen Hunt, Kevin Spacey, and Jon Bon Jovi, a film in which his character Trevor McKinney imagines an intriguing system to improve the world: performing selfless acts of kindness and paying them forward. The film was heartwarming and quite popular.

Osment was still at the top as one of the young actors of the moment in Hollywood. Therefore, it was little surprise that Steven Spielberg chose him for the role of David, an innovative Mecha robot created by Cybertronics and programmed with the ability to love, in the 2001 film 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence.'

The role of David came with more public and critical acclaim and even earned him his second Saturn Award for Best Younger Actor. However, from this moment on, he began to distance himself from that pedestal he had managed to climb.

That same year, 2001, he would star alongside Willem Dafoe in the Polish film 'Edges of the Lord,' which was never released in US theaters. Following that, in 2003, he appeared in the comedy 'Secondhand Lions,' alongside Michael Caine and Robert Duvall.

Nine years would pass in which Osment was not very active in the industry, only releasing one movie that didn't garner much success: The 2007 film 'Home of the Giants' alongside Ryan Merriman and Danielle Panabaker. In the interim, also coinciding with puberty and teenage years, which are often difficult for child actors, he lent his voice to several films.

During those "dry" years, he also lent his voice to series such as 'IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix' between 2005 and 2006, and for the character Sora in the 'Kingdom Hearts' video game series: 'Kingdom Hearts II' (2005), 'Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories' and 'Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+', both from 2007 and 'Kingdom Hearts Re:coded' in 2010.

At just 20 years old, the actor made his Broadway debut in a version of David Mamet's 'American Buffalo' at the Belasco Theater in November 2008. He played the role of Bobby, a young man addicted to illegal substances. Unfortunately, the show didn't do well and only stayed on the marquee for a week.

Around the same time, Osment had a run-in with the law. In the summer of 2006, after being involved in a traffic accident, he was arrested for driving under the influence and possession of illegal substances.

A die-hard lover of acting, he wanted to master his craft even more. He enrolled in New York University (NYU) in 2006, at 18, where he studied experimental theatre and graduated with honors.

In 2010, Osment worked as an executive producer and starred alongside Olympia Dukakis and Alison Brie in the independent film 'Montana Amazon.' The film premiered at the Orlando and Big Apple Film Festivals, winning the Best Film Award.

In 2011, Osment participated in the short film 'Sacks West,' starring Don Cheadle. However, it wasn't until 2012 that he fully returned to long-form movies with the film 'Sassy Pants' and a couple of roles in TV series: 'The Eric André Show' and 'Comedy Bang! Bang!'

Speaking to the Guardian, Osment said that it was around this time that he grew a bear to try to hide in public. He started looking for "bad guy roles" as well as a way to fight against his cherubic child image.

The year 2014 was particularly significant for his career. With a considerably different appearance and a bit more weight, he starred in 'Sex Ed' and the horror-comedy 'Tusk.'

Since then, we've seen him as a supporting actor in films like 'Me Him Her' and 'Entourage' (both 2015), 'Yoga Hosers' and 'Almost Friends' (2016), 'Sleepwalker' (2017), 'Clara's Ghost' (2018), 'The Devil Has a Name' (2019), and 'Bad Therapy' (2020).

During this period, he also participated in a film that gave him some visibility amidst his relative obscurity. 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile' directed by Joe Berlinger and co-starring actors such as Zac Efron and John Malkovich, was a highly regarded Netflix film about the serial killer Ted Bundy.

One of his most recent roles, again as a supporting actor, was under the direction of Dave Franco in 'Somebody I Used to Know.' This unique romantic comedy was released on Amazon Prime in Feb 2023.

He seems to have no shortage of TV roles, though, like in film, he is always in supporting roles. Notable appearances include on the shows 'The Spoils Before Dying,' 'Silicon Valley,' 'Future Man,' 'Teachers' and 'The Boys.'

He was a character in the 'The Kominsky Method' from 2017 to 2021. Then, he went on to a recurring role on the 2021 show 'Goliath' and acted in 'The Mysterious Benedict Society,' which was recently wiped off the Disney streaming platform.

He hasn't abandoned his role as a voice actor either, providing his voice in series like 'Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous' (2021-2022); 'Dogs in Space' (2021-2022); 'American Dad!' (2013-2022); 'Family Guy' (2002-2022); and 'Dragons: The Nine Realms' (2022).

His latest projects include ' P--- Island,' directed by Zoë Kravitz; 'Drugstore June,' directed by Nicholaus Goossen; and 'Not An Artist,' a comedy directed by Alexi Pappas and Jeremy Teicher in which he has a starring role. Plus, he's part of the 2023 podcast series 'Blood Weed.'

Despite what many might think, Haley Joel Osment is still very active in the industry. He's very private about his personal life, his sister Emily Osment may have eclipsed him in fame and he's still best known for seeing dead people. But he has shone in many of his supporting roles and remains a pillar in Hollywood. Don't rule him out just yet.