Parental Expectations || Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
Category: Local...
Posted Friday, September 19, 2003 at 07:48 AM [GMT-6]

There's an article in today's MRT (to which I'd link, only I couldn't find it online) about a local 12-year old boy who has a fairly significant part in the new movie, "Cold Creek Manor." The kid comes across as articulate and intelligent. But I couldn't help wondering about how he's ended up pursuing this profession. After all, his mother is quoted as saying, "This isn't my dream. This is Ryan's dream."

So, how does a youngster independently come to the conclusion that it's an actor's life for him? Let's see. Sometime between the ages of 5 and 8, he signed up with the Robert Spence Talent Agency. At age 8 or 9 (it's a little unclear), his mother took him to a talent search in Dallas. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Malibu so he could act in the soaps. In other words, everything in his early life has been built around "his dream."

It's not my place or intent to judge whether this is right or wrong. It seems to be working out fine for Ryan, and I hope it continues to do so. But it strikes me as a tad disingenuous to attribute a "career choice" solely to the independently-acquired wisdom of an 8-year-old.

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