Becoming a superstar after playing one iconic role is a tough challenge for any actor, but it goes doubly so for a kid, who will inevitably face puberty, get less cute, and inspire all kinds of mean-spirited jokes about "where are they now?" It couldn't be more true for Haley Joel Osment, who is known best as the Sixth Sense kid or maybe the robot from A.I., even though those movies came out about ten years ago and Osment is now 22.
He hasn't made a film since 2007's Home of the Giants-- and hasn't had a hit since A.I.-- but it's now finally time for Osment's comeback as an adult to get started. Emphasis on the world "adult," I guess-- according to THR the film is called Sex Ed, and will start Osment as a recent college graduate who winds up teaching high school sex ed despite being a virgin himself. Billy Kennedy's script, which will be directed by Isaac Feder, gets a little indie quirky from there: "He discovers an unlikely mentor in a blues bar, a ruthless enemy in the local PTA, and a gorgeous Polish girl for whom English is a distant second language."
Osment had so much talent as a child actor that it's tempting to assume he'll have a lot to offer as an adult, but you never really know how those talents might translate. Plus Osment was never exactly known for his comedic skills-- was he doing some college improv while we weren't looking? It'll be interesting to see the kid come back, for sure, but prepare for it to be just as awkward as it might be amazing.
