Among child stars of the 90’s, Christina Ricci was top tier talent. She exploded onto the entertainment scene when she starred in the 1991 reboot of The Addams Family. She was primed for a very full career as she starred in several movies consecutively in the 90’s. But her career began to slow down as she grew older, and for a while, there was not a lot of chatter about Christina Ricci. But what happened to the child celeb’s seemingly super stardom of the past? Why was she in fewer films as the years passed by? Learn more about why Hollywood won’t cast Christina Ricci anymore.
In the 90’s, Christina Ricci had become one of the most popular actors amongst child stars. Hollywood was casting her in several roles, and was cast member in many blockbuster films, such as “Mermaids,” “The Addams Family,” “Casper,” and “Now and Then.” She was also very well received because unlike other child stars, she stayed out of the spotlight for adverse behavior. Starting in Hollywood at just nine years old with her role in “Mermaids,” she had plenty of time to fall in with the wrong crowd or begin displaying bad behavior. But she was known for staying drama-free and avoiding addiction, arrests and other scandals many budding child stars are known for. She became known as your favorite, well-behaved but cult actor.
So what went wrong? Ricci fell victim to what many really successful child stars experience, which is being locked into a particular character type. Christina Ricci was so good at being “Wednesday Addams” and other similar roles, that she became synonymous with the cult-ish character. When an actor is stuck in a particular role and cannot get cast for diverse characters, this is called typecasting — and Christina Ricci most likely has been experiencing that in her adulthood. This can be a major setback for an actor like Christina Ricci, if they are not willing to continue to accept work that is basically rampant with typecasting.
Christina Ricci is also a bit short in stature. She has actually cited her lack of height as a challenge with her career. “I’m five-one first thing in the morning, and I tend to look really small on camera. I can probably go as far as Holly Hunter went, then I think that’s going to be it. I have a feeling I am way too small,” she said back in 2007. This short stature has been a challenge for female actors similar in height, such as Ellen Page, Reese Witherspoon and Kristen Bell.
Another potential challenge in her acting career is that Christina Ricci has seemingly tapped into the elusive “fountain of youth.” The actress still looks like she did in her teen movies, even at the current age of 41 years old. This is typically thought of as a good thing, to have a timeless look; but that youthful appearance coupled with her short stature could be why Christina Ricci has not been able to land many middle-aged roles.
An additional aspect from her past roles that could be affecting her current career path are a few of the edgy films she appeared in. As with many child stars with a squeaky clean image, Christinna Ricci took on roles during her young adulthood that were gritty and really pushed the limit. These roles include “The Opposite Sex,” ”Pecker” and “200 Cigarettes.” Trying to establish herself as an adult actor and trying to shed her childhood identity, she may have further pigeonholed herself into an actor best suited for obscure films versus mainstream blockbuster movies.
