Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer
Award given by the Critics Choice Association
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The Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer (Actor/Actress) is one of the awards given to people working in the film industry by the Critics Choice Association (CCA), formerly Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA). It has been awarded since the 2nd Critics' Choice Awards to an actor or actress[a] for a performance in any role, lead or supporting, in a film released that year.
| Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer (Actor/Actress) | |
|---|---|
The 2025 recipient: Miles Caton | |
| Awarded for | Best Performance by a Young Performer (Actor/Actress) |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
| Presented by | Critics Choice Association |
| First award | Jonathan Lipnicki for Jerry Maguire (1996) |
| Currently held by | Miles Caton for Sinners (2025) |
| Website | www.criticschoice.com |
The Best Young Performer award has been presented a total of 33 times, to 31 performers, with Dakota Fanning and Freddie Highmore receiving the award the most, with two wins each. Fanning also holds the distinction of the most-nominated individual in the category, with five. Daniel Radcliffe, with four nominations, is the most-nominated individual without a win. Chloë Grace Moretz, with her two nominations for Kick-Ass and Let Me In (both 2010), is the only person to be nominated twice in the same year. Eight performances—by Abigail Breslin, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Lucas Hedges, Jennifer Lawrence, Haley Joel Osment, Saoirse Ronan, Hailee Steinfeld, and Quvenzhané Wallis—nominated in this category are also among the youngest to be recognized with nominations at the Academy Awards, though none have won prizes there.
The first recipient of the award was Jonathan Lipnicki for his performance in Jerry Maguire (1996); the most recent winner is Miles Caton for his role in Sinners (2025). Lipnicki also remains the youngest nominee and winner in the category at just 6 years old at the time of his recognition, while Paul Dano, who won in Best Young Actor for Little Miss Sunshine (2006), is the eldest and only person over 21 to both be nominated and win.
Winners and nominees
The following is a full list of the nominees and winners in this category. Performances that also earned a nomination at the Academy Awards are indicated with an asterisk (*).
1990s
Best Child Performance (1996–2003)
| Year | Performer | Character | Film |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Jonathan Lipnicki | Ray Boyd | Jerry Maguire |
| 1997 | Jurnee Smollett | Eve Batiste | Eve's Bayou |
| 1998 | Ian Michael Smith | Simon Birch | Simon Birch |
| 1999 | Haley Joel Osment*[b] | Cole Sear | The Sixth Sense |
2000s
| Year | Performer | Character | Film |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Jamie Bell | Billy Elliot | Billy Elliot |
| 2001 [1] |
Dakota Fanning | Lucy Diamond Dawson | I Am Sam |
| Haley Joel Osment | David | A.I. Artificial Intelligence | |
| Daniel Radcliffe | Harry Potter | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone | |
| 2002 [2] |
Kieran Culkin | Jason "Igby" Slocumb Jr. | Igby Goes Down |
| Tyler Hoechlin | Michael Sullivan Jr. | Road to Perdition | |
| Nicholas Hoult | Marcus Brewer | About a Boy | |
| Daniel Radcliffe | Harry Potter | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | |
| 2003 [3] |
Keisha Castle-Hughes*[c] | Paikea "Pai" Apirana | Whale Rider |
| Emma Bolger | Ariel Sullivan | In America | |
| Sarah Bolger | Christy Sullivan | ||
| Evan Rachel Wood | Tracy Freeland | Thirteen |
Best Young Actor (2004–2007)
Best Young Actress (2004–2007)
Best Young Performer (2008–present)
| Year | Performer | Character | Film |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 [8] |
Dev Patel | Jamal Malik | Slumdog Millionaire |
| Dakota Fanning | Lily Owens | The Secret Life of Bees | |
| David Kross | Young Michael Berg | The Reader | |
| Brandon Walters | Nullah | Australia | |
| 2009 [9][10] |
Saoirse Ronan | Susie Salmon | The Lovely Bones |
| Jae Head | Sean "S.J." Tuohy Jr. | The Blind Side | |
| Bailee Madison | Isabelle Cahill | Brothers | |
| Max Records | Max | Where the Wild Things Are | |
| Kodi Smit-McPhee | Boy | The Road |
2010s
2020s
Multiple wins
2 wins
Multiple nominations
5 nominations
- Dakota Fanning (2 consecutive)
4 nominations
- Freddie Highmore (consecutive)
- Daniel Radcliffe (2x2 consecutive)
3 nominations
- Elle Fanning (consecutive)
- Saoirse Ronan
2 nominations
- Cameron Bright
- Asa Butterfield
- Thomasin McKenzie (consecutive)
- Chloë Grace Moretz (simultaneous)
- Haley Joel Osment
- Millicent Simmonds (consecutive)
- Kodi Smit-McPhee (consecutive)
- Hailee Steinfeld
- Jacob Tremblay
- Quvenzhané Wallis
- Emma Watson (consecutive)
Notes
- Nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 72nd Academy Awards.
- Nominated for Best Actress at the 76th Academy Awards.
- Nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 79th Academy Awards.
- Nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 80th Academy Awards.
- Nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 83rd Academy Awards.
- Nominated for Best Actress at the 83rd Academy Awards.
- Nominated for Best Actress at the 85th Academy Awards.
- Nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 89th Academy Awards.